


The Blue Baby

by Celltick



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Alternate Universe, Brotherly Amaimon, Child Rin, Child Yukio, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Light Angst, Mephisto tries to cook, OC, OOC Mephisto, Oh god, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Time Skips, everybody loves Rin, my first work so its crap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-02-18 20:20:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13107804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celltick/pseuds/Celltick
Summary: Rin was seated in the sand box, using Mephisto's outstretched legs as a seat while he built his sandcastle. Mephisto watched the boy dig a moat, subtly noting how he would need to make sure his hands and nails were clean before bed tonight. But as he watched the child, with his brows knitted and tongue sticking out in concentration, his thoughts moved to when he first held the boy; how his intentions had shifted. He was not expecting to get this personal in the life of the child. At the beginning he had planned to be much tougher on him, more callous.He let out a puff of air as the boy looked up at him and smiled. “Ta-da!” He announced, presenting his finished castle. But instead of answering, Mephisto sighed, ruffling the boy's hair.“You are much too adorable to corrupt.”Alternate universe where Mephisto takes Rin instead of Shiro





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Came kinda out of nowhere, so there will be a lot of time skips to different ages to wherever I get inspiration.

Frosty flakes of snow swayed gently in the atmosphere, moving along with the soft wind that graced the thick and untamed forest that wintery evening. A puff of grey mingled with the little white dots that had the chance to drift too close to two humanoid figures. One dropped the cigarette that was previously dangling between their gloved fingers to the snowy ground below, flattening it further into the snow with the heel of their boot. Without turning to their partner to indicate that they were moving on, the human began walking down the cliff side they had previously walked up, heading towards a large cave etched into the side of a rocky hill.

It was a steep descent from their scouting area to the cave where two Snowmen were guarding the entrance. The two regarded them briefly as they approached the entrance, seeing if the demons would initiate a conflict. When the Snowmen saw the advancing threats, they took to action and moved towards the two intruders with the objective to keep them out of the cave. The human that previously had a cigarette in their mouth skillfully grabbed their gun from its holster and shot at the demons, hitting both dead center.

Entering the cave they walked in silence, the only noise being their boots echoing along the walls of the cave. An occasional stalagmite was the only thing seen until blue flowers began to appear on the cave floor, leading them to a breathtaking site. The blue flowers were encircling a larger, purple flower that held a new mother and her two infants.

One was wreathed in blue fire.

The said mother turned her gaze to look at the intrudes, a wave a fear and motherly love appearing on her face before fading and letting a weak smile show through.

"Ah, Shiro, it's you. I was afraid my father's men had found me."

"I can't believe what I'm seeing," Shiro replied, eyeing the two infants in disbelief. The other intruder had a face of nonchalance about the whole situation, staying a few feet behind the other.

"Aren't they adorable? My little boys." The woman turned her gaze to her two infants, "I call the one with the blue flames Rin, the eldest, and the pale one is Yukio," Looking back at the two she spoke again, her words hurried yet firm and demanding, knowing her time in this world was coming to an end.

"Shiro," locking eyes with said man, she paused for a brief second before moving to address the other, "Mephisto, please, take them and raise them to be able-bodied men. They don't have to be evil as exorcist think they will be. Give them a chance.”

Shiro was too dumbstruck to answer quickly, and when his mouth finally seemed to work he noticed the woman's eyes no longer focused on them, but beyond them, and her breathing had turned to slow and spread out puffs. Then when she exhaled a puff of air, she did not inhale again. The seconds stretched on, and Shiro waited, hoping and praying that she would take in a breath.

She did not.

"No..Yuri," the man's pleading whisper was met with a deafening silence that continued on. Memories of her stubbornness flashed through his head, the many times they had encountered each other making their way into his vision. Shiro wished he could have done more for her, silently wondering how it would be if he had gone on that mission instead of her.

Mephisto cleared his throat and walked forward a few step, successfully pulling Shiro out of his anguished thoughts.

"Well then, what shall you do now? You're orders are to kill the spawns of Satan. Will you carry out that mission?" The man smirked, "Or has her dying words changed your view on the matter?"

He did not answer the inquiry, deciding that the two infants in front of him were more deserving of his attention at the time. Walking towards the two, he leaned down to get a better look at them, momentarily transfixed by the blue fire that covered one of the infants.

Rin. That was what she called him.

Rising up, his left hand scratched as his chin contemplatively.  
"Hm. I think you should take Rin. You guys might get along better," turning to look at Mephisto, he added on, "You know, being demons and stuff."

The quick decision and emotion change through Mephisto for a loop, and he stammered in his next action. This was not what he had thought the man would say. The demon’s sly smirk slipped off as he gazed at Shiro, who didn't seem to acknowledge Mephisto's state of shock.

"I mean, if you instead want Yukio that’s fine with me, but it makes more sense for you to have Rin. Do you think they are allergic to anything?" He turned to look at Mephisto for his opinion, but was not given one as the demon crossed his arms.

"Who said I'm taking the boy to begin with? Yuri does not have the rank to order me around. Besides, I would be disobeying direct orders. I am already not trusted by the Order, so doing this will just worsen my situation." His sly smirk reappeared and Mephisto stared at Shiro expectantly. "So tell me, dear Shiro, why I should raise this boy?"

Shiro's face turned serious, and his head lowered ever so slightly, "I understand the position that you are in, but I'm asking you to raise him as a favor to Yuri, and me. Please, Mephisto, " his hands clenched and he gave the other a pleading look, and it seemed to work.

"Alright." The word surprised Shiro. He was sure the other wouldn’t agree and that he’d have to take both on himself.

"I will raise the boy...such an intricate piece shouldn't be destroyed," The last part was muttered, just low enough for Shiro not to hear.

"Thank you, Mephisto, I owe you one,” Shiro thanked, a smile creasing his lips.

"Yes, yes you do." Walking forwards, Mephisto stared at the blue flames engulfing the infant before turning to Shiro, his hand outstretched, "You still have Kurikara correct? Give it to me."

Shiro had forgotten about the sword that was slung over his back - the sword he was supposed to use to kill the infants. Slipping it off his shoulder he handed it over to Mephisto and watched as the man held it in one hand and snapped his fingers with the other. As if on cue, the mesmerizing flames slowly slipped off of the sleeping infant to slither over and engulf the sword in its fiery blue essence, dancing around the sheath of the sword before it slowly receded into the blade.

"What did you do?" Shiro asked, amazed and curious at what he had done. Mephisto only shrugged, as if it were simple.

"Oh nothing, just sealing his demonic power into the sword. It'll be hard to raise him if he's constantly spouting flames everywhere. I will of course gradually weaken the sword so I can teach the boy to control his flames." Sliding the sword onto his back, the man walked over to pick up Rin. With the flames gone he now noticed how similar he and his brother looked. Well, they were twins after all.

As Mephisto picked up Rin, Shiro went to pick up Yukio, making sure to be careful with the infant so as to not wake him. Mephisto did the same, and Rin lay in the man’s arms without waking.

"Well, I believe that is it then. I'm off." Turning around, Mephisto headed for the entrance of the cave. Shiro nodded, beginning to also walk before felt the familiar crave for a cigarette. Automatically, he began to reach into his pocket, but the weight in his arms reminded him of his new responsibility.

 

*****  
  
Pink smoke cleared instantly when Mephisto arrived at his mansion, the tendrils whisping away from the two new arrivals. Light snowfall dusted the steps to his mansion, causing foot prints to appear when Mephisto walked up the stoop and entered his abode. He was immediately greeted by his head butler, who took his master's jacket and welcomed him home. Mephisto could tell that the demon was curious about the infant in his arms, but he did not question Mephisto’s intentions.

Walking past the servant, Mephisto maneuvered his way through his large mansion, heading towards his personal library. He was hoping that maybe somewhere in there he might have something to do with human development. He may have lived for over 1,000 years, but he did not spend any one of those days in parenting classes. He did not plan to either.

His library room was curved, similar to that of an oval, with books lining the walls. The books kept going until it was a few inches short from the curved ceiling. Entering the large library Mephisto stopped, humming silently as he slowly turned in a circle, looking for a book on humans.

His eyes caught the spine of a book that he had read long ago, and a smile sprouted on his face.

"Ah, here we are." Snapping his fingers, the book he was eyeing slipped out of its spot and slowly lowered itself to Mephisto where it hovered at eye level.

Eating habits were very different in Gehenna, so going off what he and his brothers had eaten when they were little was not an option. His best chance at figuring it out was either to find a book that gave him an idea of what to feed the infant or ask Shiro, and he’d rather not do that.

Halfway through the book was when Mephisto was finally able to find something on what babies eat, but even that was too vague to help the demon out. Deciding to turn to the internet for help, he got onto his computer.

This turned out to be way more useful, and he immediately was given a good insight on how to care for an infant.

The weight in Mephisto's arms shifted, causing the man to look down curiously as the infant awoke. His little eyes popped open and he shifted slightly. Mephisto smirked at how vulnerable the little child was, watching as he opened his toothless mouth and-

Began to cry.

 

The new father immediately held the baby away from him, the shrill sound causing him to flinch. He was very much regretting taking the monstrosity home now.

 

*****

The next day progressed with Mephisto and Shiro phoning each other frequently, making sure they both were getting what the twins needed and Mephisto bragging about an article on “How to Raise a Baby: Parent 101” that he had found and had begun to read.

Shiro was able to get the child's essentials with the help of his clergymen, while Mephisto sent his butler on frequent errands to acquire the things needed for the child, which turned out to be a lot. The article gave him a general list of what a baby needs, and Mephisto wasn’t very enthused when the items climbed into the double digits.

The days would lead on with a very stressed Mephisto trying to balance taking care of a baby and squeezing his work in too. His Otaku life?

Nonexistent.

Every chance outside of exorcist-related business would be spent changing diapers and listening to Rin’s cries, of which seemed to never stop.

Mephisto let out an exasperated sigh, his sharp teeth grinding against one another as he waited for the child to stop crying; the pillows that he was holding against his ears were not able to fully filter out the cries of the young child. He was again rethinking the choice he had made to place the baby crib _right next to his bed_ , but a room for him had yet to be prepared.

Moaning, Mephisto rolled over to his other side so he could glare at the source of the screaming, eyes easily slicing through the darkness to find and lock on the wooden crib. Slipping out of his comfortable bed the man made his way to the crib, leaning over to look at the screaming boy inside. He was writhing back and forth, screaming while he did so.

Picking up the child Mephisto held him at eye level, then proceeded to slowly turn him around and then turn him upside down. The baby had faltered his crying when he was picked up, but began once again when the man turned him upside down.

"Well, you look fine to me. You've been fed and you've shit, so there is no reason for you to cry," Mephisto stated irritably, looking at the baby expectantly, as if he was waiting for him to give an explanation.

He replied by continuing to cry, and Mephisto responded by bringing the child into a cold embrace, hoping that would suffice for the child.

Surprisingly, the child stopped crying.

Mephisto let out a sigh, enjoying the bliss of silence. When it seemed like the boy was asleep he began to descend the child back into his crib, but when the child's back met the cool bed his eyes opened and he began to cry once again, reaching out to the man who had to bring the infant back up to his chest to silence him.

That night Mephisto ended up sleeping next to the child, both snuggled up peacefully in the many blankets that occupied the man's king sized bed.

When morning came Mephisto woke up first.

_I wonder if Beelzebub will be angry knowing that he could not raise the littlest brother.._ Staring down at the sleeping infant, the man sighed. _What a pain this will be. Neither Azazel nor Amaimon prepared me for_ this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Updates will be sporadic.


	2. Chapter 2

7 months later…

Mephisto was trying to feed Rin sweet potatoes when his phone rang. He briefly looked down at who was calling him and then raised it up to his ear.

"Hello, Shiro. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?" Mephisto asked, his voice not holding the exuberant edge it usually had. He was too concentrated trying to get Rin to swallow the pureed sweet potato.

"Hello, Mephisto. I’m calling to check up on Rin and also see if you’re free around 3 today," Shiro asked. Mephisto paused for a moment, watching Rin swirl the food around in his mouth before pushing it out. Mephisto let out a disapproving grunt, using the baby spoon to catch the food before it got onto the child's bib.

"Rin is doing fine. And this meetup will include the children, I presume?" Mephisto asked, shoveling more sweet potato out of the container.

"Yes, it will include the two." Shiro answered.

"Alright then. I will be at your Monastery at 3." Seeing the conversation had ended, Mephisto took the phone away from his ear and focused on more pressing matters. "Come on Rin! Here comes the Phantom Train, open wide!" Opening his mouth the man tried to persuade Rin to copy him.

Rin did, and the man shoved the spoon in before the boy could close his mouth.

“Does this even taste good…” Mephisto muttered, taking his glove off to dip his finger into the food. It tasted sweet, and wasn’t bad at all.

“I wonder if they have Ramen flavored…”  Mephisto wondered to himself. He suddenly snapped his fingers, and a pen and paper appeared. Reading what he had written so far, Mephisto added to the shopping list _"Ramen flavored baby food"_ in curly curisve, and underlined it many times before adding a few more things onto the list. Mephisto was determined to have a variety of foods for the boy to eat, and so had written down a good amount of vegetables and fruits, along with a few other things. He was also considering bringing up a few Gehennian food too, to get the boy used to both worlds, food-wise and culture-wise.

Mephisto was snapped out of his thoughts by Rin’s babbling, some of the pureed food on his bib. Mephisto let out a hum of disapproval at the bits that made it onto the child’s shirt.  

“Messy…” He muttered, cleaning up the area and getting Rin out of the high chair he was in. “Let’s get you ready to see Shiro, hm?” Mephisto looked at Rin, holding him in his arms.

 

*****

When Shiro opened the door for Mephisto to enter he was not sure what he expected Rin to be wearing. Maybe the clown dressed him similar to him, or maybe a bodysuit with a weird quote. Or nothing except diapers.

He definitely did not expect Rin to be wearing lederhosen.

Shiro had to admit, Rin looked adorable in the traditional German clothes, but he wasn't about to admit it. His eyes drifted up to see Mephisto had a smug look adorning his face.

"What the hell..." Shiro decided not to open the topic about the outfit, and moved aside for Mephisto to enter, closing the door behind him and then leading him to the living space of the monastery. There on the floor sat Yukio, teething on a plastic ring. One of the clergymen was watching the baby, and seeing that Shiro had arrived he stood up and greeted the two before leaving the room, quickly mentioning he would bring tea. Mephisto set Rin down next to Yukio, putting a toy in front of him to occupy the infant. Rising, he went over to sit in a chair adjacent to Shiro.

Silence filled the air for a few fleeting seconds as they both watched the two brothers play with the toys until Shiro broke it.

"You know, it's been 7 months since we took them in. Feels way longer than that though," Shiro smiled down at the two, then looked at Mephisto who answered with a hum. The man continued to speak.

"The first month and a half were terrible. At night he would scream and scream, and I had also quit smoking too for his sake," Shiro chuckled, rubbing his face with his hand, "God I would get so frustrated. Almost lost it at a couple points." Mephisto smiled at this, looking down at the infants.

"Rin was the same. I would get so annoyed by it I would just end up putting him in bed with me. That always shut him up," Mephisto paused as he mused, absently watching Rin turn a plastic train in his hands. "I wonder if they experienced separation anxiety those first months, even though they must have been together only for a few hours after birth."

Shiro shrugged in response. "They say twins have an unbreakable bond." Mephisto smirked at this, contemplating. “Could be.”

The clergyman walked in with two teacups and the teapot. He bowed as a thank you was given to him by Shiro and walked out of the room.

When the tea was up to Shiro's lips, he remembered something he forgot to tell Mephisto up until that moment. "Ah, I almost forgot!" Setting the teacup down, he waited for Mephisto to also put his down and give him his attention. "I have brought Yukio to the playground once, and outside many times. The last time I brought him out a Coaltar floated up to his face, and Yukio acknowledged it and watched as I shooed it away." The man stared at Mephisto, a serious expression on his face, "I believe Yukio is able to see demons."

Mephisto took it all in with a straight face, only quirking an eyebrow when the information was said. _How intriguing_.

"Rin must be the one to have given him a temptaint, and now I’m wondering when you are going to weaken the seal to his powers to teach him."

Mephisto paused to take another sip of his tea before speaking.

"I plan to do so on his first birthday, and on his third I will see if he can handle all of it," he paused briefly, looking down at the infants, deciding to change the subject. "But more importantly, what about Yukio? As he gets older you're going to have to teach him how to fight demons. I wonder how he'll react when he finds out his own brother is a demon, and the one who gave him a temptaint."

Shiro stared at Mephisto, a sharp look in his eyes. "Yukio won't have to react to anything, as you should be able to teach and train Rin not to show himself so easily."

The other shrugged at this. "I can nurture his personality and give him the most mundane environment, but I can only influence his decisions. If he decides to reveal himself that’s his stupid decision." Getting up, the man picked up Rin, who had started to babble at Yukio. He began walking to the entrance of the Monastery, only glancing back when he began to speak.

"He'll find out eventually. I think it'd be easier to tell him when he's young and can't run away....far."

When he heard the door closed Shiro let out a breath, turning to look down at little Yukio.

 

* * *

 

Mephisto could not believe how fast Rin could walk. He took his eyes off him for just a few minutes for work and the child was already down the hall. He had tried to occupy the child with toys and anime, but it seemed like the boy was more interested in exploring the large mansion.

Sighing, Mephisto hurried his pace, peaking into the rooms he passed. Rin had made a run for it when the man had turned away.

....Again.

Turning a corner, the man heard babbling and hurried his pace. The hall he was walking down was soon occupied by his head butler, Belial.

A squirming Rin was held securely in his arms.

"Good evening, sir. I had found the little master in the library. He had acquired one of the books from the lower shelves and was able to tear out quite a few pages before I was able to stop him," a high and gurgling squeak was heard from the infant which prompted the butler to hand the child over to his master. Mephisto took the baby and let out a groan.

"Well, at least my more prized books are at the top," he muttered to himself, then began speaking to his butler. "Find some tape and tape the pages back in; I can fix it to a higher degree later," turning around, Mephisto began walking back to the main room.

The child in his arms reached up to touch the man's smooth face, grabbing at his cheeks and pulling on the goatee while giggling happily. Mephisto seemed to be unfazed by this, but nonetheless humored the boy by making faces and letting the child do what he wanted.

"Dadda!" The boy babbled, causing Mephisto to glance down at the infant. The word did not faze him as much as it did a month prior, when Rin had begun forming coherent words. Those first words had caused him to ring up Shiro, informing him that Rin had spoke his first words and ask if Yukio had begun speaking too. To his slight disappointment, Yukio had.

Mephisto couldn't remember who had started the competition on who could 'develop' faster, but knowing himself, Mephisto probably had.

"In a way, yes," Mephisto replied to the child monotonously, but then rethinking that he should give a more encouraging answer, he replied again. "Yes, I am your Dadda, good job! Now, keep on speaking so we can grow up faster than that brother of yours!" Throwing the child up in the air, Mephisto watched him laugh and squeal as he began to descend from the 9 foot toss. He wondered how he was going to explain to the child later on that they were actually brothers. Oh, what a conversation that will be.

Mephisto threw the child into the air until they reached his crib, the child being due for his evening nap. Mephisto though, could tell that sleep was the last thing on the child's mind. But he would try. He was in need for some alone time so he could finish his paperwork that had been slowly rising in quantity. Maybe if he hurried he could watch his favorite anime too, but he seriously doubted that.

Ever since Rin arrived he had been neglecting his consoles and manga. At one point he had swiped his finger on the top of his stack of manga and had a mild stroke when he found a film of dust covering it.

Lowering the child in the crib, he cuddled Rin with the many stuffed animals that were strewn around the crib before walking off to his desk to battle the growing stack of papers.

"Are they just giving me all this to occupy me? Surely someone else can do all this stuff..." Muttering, he began to rummage through the papers, starting from the top of the stack. Skimming through each paper with a look of indifference, he signed wherever his signature was needed, most of the time not even reading the full content on the paper.

Not even halfway through the stack his attention was diverted away. He could feel another presence in his mansion…

Immediately his mind went to Rin, and with lightning fast speed, he was able to cross the distance between him and the crib in seconds. What he came to was very unsurprising and, to a point, expected.

"Ah, Amaimon. I see you've caught the boy's attention."

Eyes that were usually lackluster were staring at the child with a new sense of curiosity. The boy stared back with the same wide eyed stare, his own glimmering with interest. Amaimon turned his head to look at Mephisto, subtly shifting his body that was currently perched on the crib so he could give the man his undivided attention.

"Well, this explains why you have not let me enter the barrier," Amaimon mumbled quietly, almost to himself. Mephisto acknowledged the words by putting his hands on his hips and huffing. He was not expecting Amaimon to arrive and meet the youngest brother just yet.

"Yes, I did not let you in, so how is it that you are here?" Mephisto asked suspiciously.

"I found a weak spot." He answered, his attention turning back to the boy in the crib.

"Impossible! Where?!"

"Down near the core. My vessel nearly melted."

Ah. Mephisto could believe that. His magical barrier went deep into the ground to prevent stubborn demons from digging through the earth. The farther the barrier was away from him, the more inconsistent in strength it was. Some spots near the core are fully functional, while other parts next to it waver in power.

"Well, I'll have to reinforce that part of the barrier then. I don't need demons following your path through." Mephisto made a mental note to do that later today.

Amaimon didn't answer, his focus more on the infant.

Mephisto didn't like how close Amaimon was to Rin. He wanted to get the child away, even though he knew that Amaimon wouldn't hurt the child; he would be a dead fool if he did.

His hand rose with the intention of taking the child away, but Amaimon's arm shot out before he could, grabbing the other side of the crib and successfully blocking Mephisto's hand. He looked curiously up at his older sibling.

"Who is he?"

The man's eyes narrowed dangerously, but then his mood seemed to lighten and he let out a groan, his stature no longer threatening.

"I was planning on telling you, dear brother, but it seems you've come a little earlier than I would've liked..." Slowly plucking Amaimon's hand away, he looked down at the child. He was chewing on his finger, smiling as he probably found the scenario funny in some weird, baby way.

"Meet your little brother."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Updates will be sporadic.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this explains the ending of Chapter one for ya.

"Meet your little brother."

Amaimon's eyes seemed to widen a fracture, and his attention immediately shifted to the boy, his interest piqued. He knew that the boy must be something special, but he never thought that... that _this_ would be the thing that Father was always fussing over having.

"So this is what Father has been nagging about..." Reaching a clawed finger down, it was grabbed immediately by two chubby hands. "He doesn't look like much."

Mephisto let out a chuckle. “He is still a baby Amaimon. He hardly knows anything,” he said, and Amaimon was about to say something else before the older demon cut him off.

"Which brings me to a point." Turning around with hands now folded behind his back, Mephisto began walking down the corridor. Amaimon sighed and followed, glancing only once back at his new little brother.

With Rin being watched by his butler and a cup of steaming tea on his desk, Mephisto was ready to speak with Amaimon.

"So, dear brother, what brings you here?" Mephisto asked, hands folded neatly behind his back as he looked at Amaimon.

Amaimon on the other hand, had his eyes glued to the array of suckers that were currently in his hand. He couldn't decide which to eat first, and was tempted to eat all of them at once. He must have still been listening to Mephisto, because he answered the man’s question.

"You had not called for me in a while and I had not visited Assiah for some time, so I thought I'd come by and see what was taking up all your time."

Mephisto replied with a hum. "How is Gehenna?"

"Boring. Since that human girl died he's been cooped up in the throne room. Burns anyone who enters."

"I expected no less. Losing somebody who could actually sustain his flames probably ruined many of his plans. I wonder how long he will sulk until he lashes out on Assiah." Mephisto pondered while staring out his windows. He took a slow sip of his tea.

Mephisto knew that his father did not actually love Yuri. Although it would have been a sight to see the devil in love. No, if anything, he was in love with her capability to withstand his flames. It was the same for his mother, and Amaimon's, and all the others. He was attracted to the power they possessed; he was endeared by their strength.

When Lucifer was born, it was his mother that helped him when he cried or felt sad, providing the emotional support that Satan did not give. When Satan figured this out, he killed the mother out of anger, furious that someone had messed with his weapon.

When Mephisto was born, he killed the mother right away so to make sure nobody interfered with the boy. He did not want anyone messing up his new soldier. But Lucifer saw this, and decided to take it upon himself to teach the child how to maneuver around their strict father, and everything else that Satan tried to disclude from his teachings.

After Azazel was born, it became a rule between the brothers that the last brother cares for the youngest, and it stuck until the King of Rot came along. Astaroth decided that he did not want to care for a younger sibling, and Amaimon was dumped onto Mephisto.  
In the end, Amaimon became somewhat loyal to Mephisto, so that was a plus.

A snap of fingers drew Mephisto's attention, and he turned to look at Amaimon.

"Sorry, I got a bit lost in thought." Mephisto apologized, pondering what he needed to ask Amaimon before a lightbulb of reminder struck him, and he gave his brother a smile. "Ah, dear brother, could you do me a favor?"

Amaimon had his attention divided between his older brother and a difficult wrapper that would not come off of his sucker. His long nails picked at the wrapping, slowly peeling it off to reveal the sugary goodness that he promptly popped into his mouth.

"Will I get to stay in Assiah?" Inquired Amaimon, swirling the sucker around in his mouth.

"For the favor, no. It requires you to go back to Gehenna. But afterwards I will allow you through the barrier and you can stay as long as you do as I say. " Mephisto answered.

Amaimon did not reply right away, only staring at Mephisto as he crunched on his lollipop. He did not answer until he had finished it, and threw the remaining stick into the trash. By then there was a slight crick in Mephisto’s smile, showing his slight annoyance.

“Okay.” Amaimon, answered finally.

"Great!" Mephisto beamed, clapping his hands together. Clearing his throat, he stared at his brother.

"Do you remember when Father exiled one of the Presidents of Hell? He also served as our royal teacher for a time." Mephisto asked him.

Already pulling out another lollipop, Amaimon tried to recall the demon from those hundred years ago. "Yes...I remember him. His name was Haagenti, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes you are correct! He, like many others, made the mistake of talking ill of Father and was careless enough for someone to overhear." Pausing, Mephisto took a sip of his tea, noting that it was beginning to cool. "He was put to public humiliation, having to stand on a pedestal as someone else read off all the titles that would be stripped away from him in public. He was then exiled to the outer lands." The man paused again to let the information sink in.

Amaimon though, wasn't really listening. He had started crunching on his lollipop, and had begun to search through his pockets for another one. Nonetheless, Mephisto continued his lecture.

"As you know, those that are exiled have little chance of surviving past one hundred years; either demons from the outer lands or demons from the inner cities go searching for them. Those from the inner cities will do anything to get on Satan's good side." Mephisto shook his head in pity, but in a span of a second his mood instantaneously brightened. "Although, I sense Haagenti is still alive and well."

Amaimon stared into Mephisto's eyes, wondering what his brother was thinking. "What makes you think that?"

Mephisto smirked, not answering Amaimon’s question. "I also think that he is in your region..."

Amaimon understood where this was going and stood up. "What do I say when I find him?"

"Tell him that I am in need of his services...."

 

****

"Mephisto, did you really forget?"

Mephisto could hear the tiny sliver of amusement in Shiro's voice, and it was annoying him greatly.

" _No_ , of course I did not." Using his shoulder to keep the phone in place, Mephisto hurriedly picked out Rin's clothes. "It hurts to hear that you think I'm such of a bad father that I would forget Rin and Yukio's birthday! It just slipped my mind that we would be celebrating it on Christmas." Mephisto defended, slipping a long sleeved shirt over Rin's head.

Shiro let out a snort. "Really? You know with all the powers you demons have, I thought you'd have at least a tiny bit more memor-"

With an irritated huff, Mephisto cut-off Shiro by ending the call. He focused more on wrapping Yukio's presents. Thankfully he had gotten his presents while he was on a little trip earlier in the year and thus saved him the time of getting something closer to the event. It turned out to be a smart move as he wouldn't have been able to find suitable presents with the hours given.

Hoisting Rin up into his arms along with the presents in a bag, he did a once over to make sure he had everything. He had Rin, he had the presents. He quickly scanned his attire for the occasion and deemed it fit.

He looked at Rin and held his fingers in the air. Rin followed his movements, also raising his hand. "Okay, you ready Rin? Eins.." He held up his thumb, and the child tried to copy him, "Zwei..." Rin copied, raising his pointer, "Drei!" as he said it, they both disappeared in a cloud of pink.

 

Arriving in the entranceway of the Monastery, his eyes were assaulted by a variety of colors. 

"You went all out, I see...." Mephisto observed, eyeing his surroundings from the spot he had transported to. There was a large tree in the corner of the room, an assortment of lights adorning its branches and the bottom filled with presents. Party streamers hung from the walls, but the most surprising was Shiro and the clergymen, all dressed as Santa.

"Ah, Mephisto, nice of you to join us." Shiro greeted Mephisto, his smile hidden behind the white beard he was wearing. "You can put the presents under the tree," Shiro directed, then lowered his gaze to Rin. "Can I hold the birthday boy?"

"Why was I not informed that we would be dressing up as Santa?" Mephisto asked, ignoring Shiro’s request, "I'm hurt," He wiped away crocodile tears and sniffled, gesturing to Shiro's beard and Santa hat.

"Well, if I had informed you, would you have worn it?" Shiro pointed out. Mephisto paused a second as if thinking before shrugging his shoulders.

"It probably would have depended on how I felt during that time. So, it's a mystery," He dropped the topic there, moving on to look at little Rin. "You can hold him, but he's not used to strangers, so you know." Mephisto informed. He glanced at Rin, locking eyes with the child before giving him an encouraging smile, fangs and all.

"Meet Shiro. I guess you can refer to him as dad." Mephisto wasn't sure how to address Shiro like this, but decided that 'dad' would do for now. Handing him over, Mephisto went to drop off the presents. 

"Hey there, little Rin! You've grown so much since I last saw you. Oh and you have so much hair!" Shiro smiled at the boy, holding him up in the air so he could see how much taller he had gotten. Rin wasn't sure how to react to being held by someone he didn't know. Where did his daddy go? He didn't know this man holding him.

Tears welled up in his eyes, threatening to fall.

"Oh no no no! It's okay it's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you, shh." Lowering the boy, Shiro patted him gently on the back, holding him to his chest.

Rin felt a bit better in the embrace, but was still uncomfortable being in his arms. Turning his head, he noticed that the man had a long white beard hanging from his chin and jawline. His daddy had something like that, but it was much shorter and a different color.

Grabbing a fistful of the white, he pulled downwards. Instead of hearing a cry or a grunt of annoyance that he usually heard when he pulled his daddy's, the beard pulled away from his face like it wasn't even attached.

Rin's mouth opened comically wide in shock, unclenching his fist to watch the beard snap back onto the man's face. The child couldn't believe he just ripped it off that easily. How did it go back onto his face? Rin was very confused.

He was suddenly taken away from the man when he was handed over to the familiar face of his daddy. He immediately grabbed for the man's goatee, pulling to see if it would too come off. It never had before, but maybe this time it would be different.

It wasn't, and Mephisto let out a grunt of pain. Shiro laughed. "He seemed very confused when he could easily take away my beard. He was so shocked."

Mephisto hummed in acknowledgement, more occupied trying to open the little fist that clutched tightly to his goatee.

Shiro chuckled at the scene before motioning for Mephisto to sit down on the chairs provided.

Before doing so he sat Rin down next to Yukio on the floor once he had gotten his hand unclenched. Ruffling the boy's hair, Mephisto swiveled around and headed back to sit with Shiro.

Little Rin stared at the boy seated next to him, not sure how to react to another kid. He had yet to meet someone that was around his age until now.

Reaching out, Rin wanted to touch the boy’s face, being the curious child that he was... Yukio watched the hand get closer to him and-

'Chomp'

It took Rin a few seconds to register that his fingers were now in the other's mouth...and another second to begin screaming.

Mephisto was by his side in a moment, Shiro not far behind as he tried to apologize.

"Shit, Yukio's still teething! Sorry, he isn't usually like this." Carefully opening Yukio's deathly jaws, he removed Rin's fingers. "He's usually shy. I don't know what made him do this."

Rin reached his arms up, wanting to be held. Mephisto did just that, patting his back as he told him to calm down. His fingers were fine. Mephisto presumed that it was just the shock of the situation that caused him to scream and start crying.

"It's okay Rin, you're fine..." Mephisto soothed, rubbing the boy’s back.

"I think this is a good time to get the cake..." Shiro muttered, to which the clergymen agreed and rushed out of the room to go get the cake.

 

 

Far below them in Gehenna, Amaimon strolled through the outer lands of his territory, his blank face surveying the land that belonged to him. The usually dusty, clay colored ground was lush with different plants and animals. The land that the King of Earth owned was said to be the most beautiful in all the territories. The only thing that could top it is the Kingdom's gardens. Of course, Amaimon designed it.

As he walked, demons looked on from the shadows. These demons remembered who Amaimon was, and knew not to pester him less they wanted to die. Younger demons were bolder, creeping forwards until their heads poked out from the bushes, making it quite obvious that they were watching him.

Amaimon didn't give the demons any attention, and instead focused on the path ahead of him.

Once he was farther in his outer lands he stopped, listening.

If it was quiet enough and he was concentrating, he could feel the vibrations of the demons walking. He could estimate what weight they were around by how hard the vibrations were and if they were walking on two or four legs. It was one of the finer perks of his powers that he enjoyed.

Since Haagenti walked on two feet, he could narrow down his search. This was how he was going to start off his search for the demon, and if it proved ineffective he would look for the demon by other means.

Certain vibrations caught his interest, and he listened closely before shooting forwards, dirt beneath him flinging into the air at the force.

What he came across was not Haagenti. It was a different demon, walking on two legs asit trudged through the forests. There was a large gash on its side, and Amaimon guessed it would die in a few hours. It looked fragile, and breakable things did not last long here.

He left it there and continued on, finding a quiet spot to stand and listen. He waited a bit longer this time, stretching the distances of his hearing capabilities.

His head snapped to the right, hearing the familiar gate of a two legged demon. These sounded hard and almost clipped...like hooves. He stood still, focusing on those vibrations before springing forwards again, his surroundings blurring as he tried to reach the source of the vibrations before the demon sat down or stopped moving.

He made it in time, coming across a large, rocky hill. The vibrations were close now. They were a lot louder...and getting closer-

Amaimon shifted his body to the right, his swift movements saving him from the spear flying towards him. After the demon missed him he jumped back to give himself and the new threat some space, watching the figure come forward.

"Brother was right. You are still alive," Amaimon said, voice level.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Updates will be sporadic.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!  
> I hope everybody had fun during the holidays.  
> Sorry for my absence, I've been busy :)

"Brother was right. You are still alive," Amaimon said, his voice level.

"Why have you sought out for me? To kill me?" The demon spat, his voice low and smooth. He made no move to attack, only raising his arms close to his chest in a defensive manner.

Amaimon shrugged in response, staring at the old demon. "Samael is in need of your services. He did not tell me for what." The demon looked shocked into silence, before he burst into laughter. The Earth King just stared blankly, not knowing what had caused the demon's sudden outburst. The demon continued laughing until he wheezed out a chuckle and a sneer came across his face.

"I have been exiled to the outer lands and banned from practicing the principles of teaching. I can not give him anything. Besides, he knows that I no longer teach. I told him myself." Haagenti turned away, taking a large risk by showing his back on such a powerful being.

Amaimon's eyes narrowed at his former teacher, but he did not want to upset his older brother by mutilating the demon.

"Brother does not care for Satan's rulings. And I do not know what has been said between you and him, but he has asked for me to find you and bring you back," Amaimon watched as the demon walked away from him, the words not changing his mind. He began to think about what might persuade the demon to come with him.

"Have you ever been to Assiah?" This questions caused the demon to stop. "Brother hardly ever returns home to Gehenna anymore. If you come to his aid he will provide you a suitable vessel and living space in Assiah."

At this, Haagenti finally turned around. The demon was only wearing a cloth around his pelvis, while everything else was exposed. He had a humanlike body, while his head and legs were that of a bull and he had the wings of a gryphon.

He sighed, walking forward a couple feet toward Amaimon. The idea of seeing something different than this dreary, sulfur-smelling place appealed to him greatly.

"Alright. Lead the way." The old demon relented, and it was only because he had once taught him that he was able to see the tiny smile of triumph that was almost nonexistent on the Earth King's face.

 

****

After they had presented the cake with the one candle centered in the middle—the children's wide expressions when the candle was blown out was a photo definitely to keep—they had went on to open presents.

Rin opened his presents first, being the firstborn.

He ended up getting five presents, one from each clergymen and Shiro. At the end, there were a few clothes and a lot of assortments of toys and stuffed animals. Many were loud and annoying, and Mephisto hoped Rin would lose interest in them immediately.

Yukio was next and from Mephisto he had gotten him his own lederhosen and a large, limited edition stuffed bear from his amusement park. His present from Shiro was a large shape sorter that required the child to put the shape in the corresponding hole.

“Where is Rin’s present from you?” Shiro asked Mephisto, who was currently trying to fit all of Rin’s new goodies in the bag he had brought.

“I planned to give it to him when we got home,” Mephisto said simply, and Shiro did not push farther about it, and instead watched the demon try to fit all of the toys in his bag. Yukio seemed to watch too as he rested in the paladin’s arms. Rin watched with him, slightly amused at his daddy’s disgruntled look.

He was able to fit them all, albeit a tight fit. With that out of the way, he turned to say goodbye to Shiro.

“Goodbye, dear Shiro. Until we meet again, “ lowering his gaze, he made eye contact with Yukio, “Auf Wiedersehen, Yukio.” Picking up Rin, he slung the bag over his shoulder and looked at Rin. He picked up the child’s hand and told him to keep it in the air. His grip fell from the tiny arm and he lifted his own hand.

“You ready? Eins...Zwei...Drei!” They disappeared in a cloud of pink.

Shiro stood there, a sigh escaping his lips.

“He’s teaching him how to count the German way...of course,” Shiro murmured, turning to go back to where the christmas tree was. The clergymen were cleaning up in the kitchen, so he was alone with Yukio.

From the point at which he was standing he could see something shimmer from behind the tree. Setting Yukio down, Shiro went to inspect what it was since he had thought they had opened all the presents.

What he found was a small box inscribed for Yukio and Shiro from Mephisto.

“What the…” Shiro muttered as he carefully unwrapped it and opened the box. Inside was a letter. He put it off to the side and took out the little layers of paper tissue that were carefully folded inside to find a surprising gift.

Careful designs were carved into the pair of black handguns that lay in the foam that surrounded it. It looked similar to the standard handguns they gave out to Dragoon Meisters, but more detailed.

Shiro gawked at it, not sure what to think of it before he remembered the letter and took hold of it, ripping it open to read the message.

_A gift to Yukio when he gets older. Don’t touch it, god knows where your hands have been._

Shiro decided not to think about what Mephisto had been insinuating for that last part, instead focusing on the beautifully carved handguns. His attention then turned to Yukio, who was fiddling around with one of his toys. It was sad to think that his little boy couldn’t grow up to be a normal human. Same for Rin, who had to deal with the fact he had Satan’s atrocious blue flames.

Not wanting to think about the future, the man picked up Yukio. He wanted to live his life day by day. Worrying about the future was too tiring at the moment.

His mind drifted away as a very particular smell reached his nose.

“Oh Yukio wow you need a diaper change,” The man said, scooting a little farther away from Yukio, who just stared at the man curiously.

 

 

When Mephisto changed Rin into pajamas and put him on the bed, the child immediately fell asleep, and Mephisto paused, watching his little chest breathe in and out. He felt a little sad, knowing he had to ruin his calm state.

“But it has to be done…” He muttered to himself, leaving the child and walking to where his large desk and office space was. There, hidden inside a heavily sealed drawer, held the koma sword.

He opened the drawer, the seals not affecting him as he pulled out the sword. The small drawer usually would not be able to fit such a long object, but it was a different case for Mephisto, being the king of space and time.

Taking the cover off the sword, he stared at the sheath. If he opened this, the blue flames would return back to Rin. But Mephisto knew he could not do this. Rin’s tiny body could not hold the flames rushing back to him so quickly.

Running his fingers along the sheath, Mephisto began to whisper secret words to the sword.

A crack appeared at the tip of the scabbard, standing as the beginning when more appeared. As if on cue, a cry was heard, but the demon did not stutter in his chant as he heard little Rin scream out.

When a large crack struck down the length of the sheath, Mephisto stopped. That would have to do until next year.

Putting the red cover back onto the sword, he dropped the sword back into the drawer and resealed it. Rin was still screaming by then, and Mephisto hurried to his king bed where the infant sat, crying and sweating profusely.

“ŞӇӇ...เᏖ'Ş Øƙǟ¥, Ɨ'Μ Ӈ€Ř€,” Mephisto whispered in a soothing tone, not realizing that he had switched to the ancient language of Gehennian by accident. Comforting his little brother like this was all too familiar.

He sat cross-legged on the bed as Rin crawled over, eyes big and scared as he hugged the older demon, who returned the embrace.

“Daddy…” Rin cried into the man’s chest, who could only hug the little boy harder. Holding his head, Mephisto could feel the new point of Rin’s ears.

He then remembered his present and snapped his fingers, the red box appearing next to him.

Since Rin was still freaking out, Mephisto unwrapped it with another snap of his fingers. In it folded neatly was a dark blue velvet blanket, made out of a fur-like material.

It was made out of a rare demon in Gehenna, and is said to have healing and learning properties when it was wrapped around you. It came from a rare demon, and was considered a royal symbol.

Mephisto wasn’t sure he believed it had learning and healing properties, but the blanket was extremely soft and comfortable. He was given his own when he was little, and he had clung to it.

Mephisto pulled Rin away from him and wrapped the blanket around him, bringing him back into an embrace afterwards.

“It’s okay Rin...just go to sleep....” Mephisto soothed, holding the child close to him until he heard his sobs quietly lessen and the boy had fallen asleep.

* * *

The next day...

“Samael, when your brother informed me that you would be providing me a suitable vessel, I did not expect it to be an old, wrinkly human. I can practically hear their bones creaking..” Haagenti groaned, flexing his new forearm and fiddling with the dangling skin below it.

“Oh Haagenti, you are hardly in the place to be picky,” Mephisto scolded, wagging his pointer finger back and forth.

The demon’s eyes narrowed. “Do not anger me, Samael. I have come here as you have asked, now tell me, why are you in need of my services? I remember specifically telling you that once I have taught all of Satan’s kids I was done. If you had actually listened to me you would also have known that I was to retire.. before..” He did not finish his sentence, and turned away slightly, but Mephisto knew what he was going to say.

“Exactly!” Mephisto said, his jovial voice irritating the older demon, “You are not done teaching.”

The demon have him a confused glare.

“What do you mean? I have taught all eight of Satan’s children, and as far as I now he is not interested in having a ninth.” He countered, to which Mephisto tisked.

“Oh on the contrary, follow.” Mephisto smirked, turning around and leading Haagenti to Rin, who laid in the king-sized bed, the dark blue blanket curled around him.

“Meet Satan’s ninth child, Rin. He is your new student.”

The demon stood there, shellshocked as he watched the child sleep. He turned to face Mephisto, wanting answers.

“Let’s talk elsewhere, shall we?” Mephist asked, turning around and walking away. Haagenti looked back one more time at the sleeping child before hurrying after Mehisto.

 

“About a hundred years after Beelzebub left to live in his own castle, Satan tried to possess a woman, but she did not burn up,” Mephisto paused for dramatic effect before continuing, “she was immune to Satan’s blue flames, and after that first encounter, Satan continued to come back, and the woman was not afraid. Instead, she became close with the demon and ended up getting impregnated by him.

She had two sons, twins, one of which you had just seen.” Mephisto finished.

“Where is the other one?” Haagenti asked.

“He is being raised by someone else. Do not worry about him, our main focus will be on Rin.” Mephisto said curtly, “Anyways, when I found the child, he was covered in Satan’s blue flames.” Haagenti stared, alarmed, while Mephisto smiled. “Rin is the first child of Satan’s to inherit his powers.”

The demon was silent, thinking.

"Is Satan aware of them?”

"Yes, demons ended up helping the birth of the two, but at the moment they are not aware of where they are.” Mephisto answered. Haagenti nodded, head lowered as he thought.

Since it looked as though Haagenti was not going to say anything, Mephisto took the spotlight once again.

"Since I am the one needing to care for the child, I need someone to teach him, and who better than the demon who taught Satan's eight children, and one of his longest acquaintances?" Mephisto twirled in a circle, a large smile on his face that showed his gleaming fangs. He then began to rub his chin, thinking.

Haagenti did not seem as enthused. "Why not the human schools?”

Mephisto scoffed. “And risk a demon finding him? Or showing his flames? Definitely not. That is why I have called on you to teach the child.”

“As I remember, I did not say I was accepting the offer." Haagenti said coldly.

"And as I remember, I did not give you the choice." Mephisto countered.

"You cannot keep me here. I could easily go back to Gehenna." The old demon sneered, raising from the chair he had been sitting in.

Mephisto burst out in a sadistic laughter. “Yes, go back to Gehenna! You will find your little bunker, along with everything else you’ve created burnt to a crisp and demons searching for you high and low once I mention to my kingdom that you have wronged me. The life you’ve tried to rebuild will be destroyed once again.”

Haagenti sent him a piercing glare, eyes staring daggers into the other demon, who sent them right back, an underlying threat easily seen in his green eyes.

"And what if I escape or accidently slip to other demons the whereabouts of Satan’s son?"

A dark look spread across his face, “I’ll let your imagination guess at that.”

"You are no better than your father.” Haagenti spat.

"Really? As I can see, I do not possess the arrogance nor temper to throw you out to the outer lands just because you insulted me,” Mephisto chuckled, not letting Haagenti talk as he began to walk away.

"Here, I will take you to your room. You will receive three meals a day. I will send Amaimon down to your bunker to get any teaching materials you would like up here." Mephisto said, walking down the long corridor. He suddenly stopped, turning to Haagenti behind him.

"But, I will watch you and listen to what you are teaching Rin. I have seen enough of your teaching to know what you teach and what not. If I hear that you are not educating Rin properly, you will regret it strongly." He said darkly, his voice low and threatening. But it did not last long as he turned around, his happy spirits back as he explained that he could even get him his own butler, as Belial had enough to do.

"What will I teach him?" Haagenti asked, to which Mephisto scoffed.

“What you taught us. What else would you be teaching him?” Mephisto answered in annoyance.

“What about the newer ways? It must have changed from the millennium that I was exiled.”

“I have looked into them and they have not changed much. Nothing important that would benefit Rin was added in, so you are fine.” Mephisto waved off, stopping in front of a door.

The demon did not respond as he was met with the sight of his new living quarters.

“I will retrieve some of the newer teaching books to enlighten you though,” Mephisto informed him as he closed the door, his keen eyes not missing the small sputter of excitement that graced the old host’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't read over this yet, so if there are any mistakes, my bad!
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> Updates will be sporadic.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for my absence! It wasn't right for me to leave and not post. :(  
> But my updates will continue to be sporadic. I might update tomorrow, or end up not posting until next year, sorry.

The next day was quite eventful for Rin and Mephisto both.

First was Rin’s bath.

As a baby Mephisto used his kitchen sink to wash the boy, as his bathtub was much too large for the infant at the time.

Yes, he had a kitchen, one he hadn’t used in some time until Rin came along. He found it much more practical to have instant made ramen noodles, and was too busy of a man to waste time on actually making a meal.

But now he deemed Rin old enough to bathe in his bathtub.

At the moment, Rin was trying to babble at the man furiously, his hands waving wildly, causing a few flicks of suds to slide across Mephisto’s face.

“Mhm Rin...very interesting,” Mephisto answered as he scrubbed the boy’s head, who continued to babble on. The man noticed Rin’s pointed ears, and when the boy laughed he saw his sharpened incisors. It made him wonder if next time he will receive his tail.

He was brushing the hair back out of the child’s face when Haagenti arrived. “You do not have a maid to do that kind of work?” He asked, coming up behind Mephisto to peer down at the sudsy child.

“I have my butler, but he has enough to handle,’ Mephisto answered, watching as Rin gazed curiously up at the other demon.

“Say hello, Rin,” Mephisto said, turning slightly so he could see Haagenti and wave at him, having Rin copy.

Haagenti stared with a brow raised, obviously not amused and slightly puzzled by the actions. He then felt someone prodding into his mind.

 _Hello? I’m trying to get him to have adequate social skills! Say hello back!_ It was Mephisto, using telepathy to talk to him. Haaegnti let out a disapproving grunt but nonetheless raised his hand to wave back at Rin.

Rin continued to stare at the old, wrinkly man. He had never seen his face before. He looked back to his daddy, who continued to massage shampoo into his hair. Suddenly, Rin had the idea to make his daddy like the other man he had met with the strange beard.

Reaching into the water, Rin’s hands held bubbles and suds, which he smeared onto his daddy’s face when he inched close enough.

Mephisto’s glare sent the boy into giggles, leading to the boy splashing in the water happily.

“Hard to believe he’s-” A squirt of water found its way to the old demon, who flinched at the contact. Mephisto smirked at Haagent'si disgruntled face, and in response the demon only walked off, grumbling something that widened Mephisto’s smirk.

When Haagenti was out of view, Mephisto grabbed some suds and made a little hat on Rin’s head.

“That was Haagenti, a demon. He’s going to be your teacher...” the demon explained, then began rambling on about different topics while Rin fiddled with a duck that was bobbing in the water.

 

After Rin was clothed and his hair was frizzy and dry, Amaimon decided to drop by. With him were the books and scrolls that Haagenti had ordered early in the morning. The books were thick and dusty, but the old demon smiled happily and began to organize them in his new quarters.

Amaimon went away to visit with Rin, but before Mephisto could follow in pursuit Haagenti spoke to him.

“When shall I begin his teachings?” He asked, flipping through the worn pages of one of the thick books.

“After his third birthday. That gives you two years to get familiar with the boy and figure out the ins and outs of him; to figure out a teaching method that benefits him the most.”

“Will his teachings include sparring?” Haagenti absentmindedly asked, to which Mephisto shook his head.

“I shall teach him how to fight and how to use his powers.”

The demon snorted in response. “You better teach him. Just watch, I finally get to see something besides that dreary hellhole only to be sent back because my host was burnt to a crisp. I wonder how easily this body can escape a house fire...”

Mephisto only chuckled. “If you did escape you’d be killed immediately.” At this Haagenti looked up, a look of confusion and irritation written on his face. When Mephisto figured out he didn’t know the man laughed.

“I never fully introduced my mansion, did I? Well, welcome to the residence of Johann Faust V or Mephisto Pheles, as I am also known as. This mansion has the best view in town, right on top of True Cross Academy, an exclusive school that is run and funded by The Order. There is also a cram school here, for little exorcists to become big and strong to eventually kill the likes of you,” Mephisto had a wide grin on his face, while the other demon suddenly seemed a little opaque.

Haagenti did not leave his state of shock as he watched Mephisto turn around and skip down the hall, the grin still wide on his face. But when Mephisto entered the room which should have held Rin, he found the child nowhere in sight. Neither did he see Amaimon.

“Amaimon?” Mephisto called out, but no answer was given to him. He looked around the room, his eyes steadying on the slightly ajar window near the corner.

That told him all he needed to know.

Sighing through his nose, he approached the open window to see if he could catch a glimpse of his younger brother.

Only a demon’s eyesight could catch the spiky green hair disappearing into the distance, and when Mephisto’s eyes caught it he immediately called for his butler.

“Belial, make sure Haagenti does not do anything destructive while I am away.” Mephisto instructed coldly, before exiting the mansion.

 

Minutes earlier...

Amaimon entered the room and walked over to Rin, immediately spotting the boy. A train was in his hands as he drove it around on the ground while Amaimon approached and sat down in front of the child, effectively pulling his attention off of the train and to the new arrival. Curiosity was gleaming in his daring blue eyes.

A word was not said between the two as Amaimon pulled out a sucker from his pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth. Not once did he look away from the child as he studied him, watching as the boy reached out for the stick of the sucker that poked out of the demon’s mouth.

But before the chubby hands could circle around the stick, Amaimon pulled away and grabbed another sucker from his pocket. Unwrapping it, he offered it to the curious child.

Rin stared at it for a second before grasping it in his hands and bringing it closer to inspect it. Then, looking back to Amaimon, he opened his mouth to try to fit the large lollipop into his small mouth, but he just ended up getting just a part of if in.

But the intense flavor that hit him was one that he had never tasted before, and he looked back up at the being who introduced him to this new miracle.

Another second passed as they looked at each other, before Amaimon reached into his pocket for another sucker and found it to be empty.

Rising up, he now stared down at the child with a mischievous look in his eye.

“That was my last sucker,” Amaimon said, reaching down to grab the child, “and now you’re coming with to go get more.”

 

It did not take long before Mephisto was leaping on top of buildings, following his younger brother’s path. He tried to restrain the thoughts of killing his brother; he had to compose himself and get Rin back. Then...then Amaimon would get it for stealing the child.

Following Amaimon’s path of travel lead him to a familiar store that made him groan when he spotted the jovial colors in the window: the candy store.

Walking in, he immediately spotted Rin and Amaimon staring at the variety of suckers the store offered, looking so entranced that it seemed as though they couldn’t hear Mephisto walking up.

Resting a hand on his brother’s shoulder, he whispered into his pointed ear.

“Oh, my dear brother. You have crossed a line." Amaimon shrunk away from the menacing voice, looking up at the other with his usual blank face.

“I was getting more sweets because Rin took my last one, brother,” Amaimon explained, and the name of the child brought Mephisto’s attention down to the boy, who was holding an assortment of candy in his hands.

“Dadda!” He called out once the boy spotted the purple goatee, getting off of the ground to walk over to Mephisto, who picked him up immediately and began to inspect the boy.

“He screamed at first, then he started laughing…” Amaimon muttered, his face blank as he picked at the wrapper of a chocolate bar. Mephisto assumed he was talking about Rin’s little trip over here in Amaimon’s arms.

Mephisto diverted his attention away to the boy and to Amaimon. Years of being around the demon made him excel at seeing the little details that showed his current emotion, even if to others his face looked as blank as it always did. So the small downturn in the corner of the demon’s mouth told him his little brother meant no harm.

Mephisto began to doubt if the demon had even thought of taking the child away to Gehenna…

Sighing, Mephisto glanced away, deciding to look down at the smiling boy in his arms.

“I’ve decided to spare you, Amaimon, but do not pull a stunt like this again,” Mephisto warned darkly, but then his mood brightened slightly. “Restock your pockets with candy, I’ll pay.”

Walking away, Amaimon soon joined his brother at the front desk with two bags full of candy. The clerk did not ask questions, but only sent a disturbed look at the two strange looking males, a baby in hand and two full bags of candy in the other. Her “have a nice day” sounded more like a question than anything else as the brothers left the store.

When they returned to the mansion Mephisto gave Amaimon a long talk about the effects of too much sugar at a young age, while Rin somehow found Haagenti’s requested books and began tearing pages.

Yes, that evening was very interesting.

That night Mephisto joined Rin on his large, king-sized  bed. The child still insisted on sleeping with the man at night, but when evening naps were due he was content being in the crib. Mephisto had forgotten completely about the child’s own room which was prepared and ready, but really deep down, he didn’t want the child to leave. Mephisto would never admit it, but he was beginning to care deeply for the child, more than he thought he would.

Pulling out an old children’s book, he began to flip pages, Rin snuggled in the blue blanket gifted to him.

After a while longer flipping pages, Mephisto closed the book, looking at Rin.

“Tonight, I think I’m going to tell you my own story instead of these tales,” Mephisto explained to Rin as the boy snuggled closer, ready to hear the story. Usually Mephisto would read him ancient history, whether it was about Gehenna or Assiah. But tonight the demon felt like doing something different.

With a small smile on the demon’s face, he began the old tale.

“Once, very long ago, there was a German scholar named Faust…”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haagenti is an actual demon. I thought it would be better using a real demon instead of one entirely made up. So if you guys want to see what he actually looked like before he had a vessel, search away!  
> Telepathy will be talked about more in later chapters.  
> Also I'm not happy with this chapter, but I thought it was better to get it out and over with.  
> Hope you're not too disappointed!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be a shorter chapter, since this was the best place to break off the story. The next chapter will be much longer though!

Haagenti could not believe what he had been tasked with. Since Mephisto was off on an important mission, he had to take care of Rin, which entailed feeding him, playing with him, keeping him out of mischief, and successfully putting him to bed. Amaimon being there did not help his problem, either.

“Come on Rin, finish your dinner, then you're done,” Haagenti coaxed the boy, who was sitting at the dinner table, glaring daggers at the two carrots that inhabited his plate.

Amaimon was next to to the boy, watching him while he chewed on his broccoli.

“No!” Rin answered, moving the plate away. Haagenti sighed through his nose, wishing that he could punish the child, as would have been done if he had been in Gehenna. But Mephisto would have his head, and Amaimon would kill him before he even got close to the child.

So, Haagenti had to try other means of getting the boy to cooperate.

“Come on Rin, there’s only two of them. In two bites they’re gone!” Haagenti tried, but the answer was the same, and Rin pushed the plate farther away.

“No!”

“Rin, just eat it!” Haagenti was losing his patience.

“You eat it!” The retort bewildered the demon.

“Wha- They aren’t my carrots-”

“Yeah they are! You eat it! In two bites they’re gone.”

“You little…” Haagenti barely restrained himself from hurling himself over to the boy, but the scary glare from Amaimon and the fact that he wasn’t sure his vessel could successfully make it over there made him stay put.

_If my followers could see me now...losing an argument to a child…_

The demon was silent as he tried to figure out a way to get the boy to eat the remaining carrots. Really, he didn't blame the child for not wanting to eat them. Their dinner came out of a packaged, pre-cooked box. The butler's cooking skills were fairly limited.

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head, and his attention turned to Amaimon.“Hey Amaimon, do we still have those tubs of creamy-substances?” Haagenti asked, one eye kept on the look on Rin’s face.

“If you are referring to ice cream, then yes. Last I looked, we have chocolate, cookie dough, strawberry, and vanilla in the kitchen,” Amaimon answered, finishing his last broccoli. He kept silent about his hidden mini fridge where he kept a few other ice cream flavors, but made a mental note to stock it later.

“Well, I think you and I deserve a little ice cream, seeing as we ate all of our food. Maybe we can watch a movie too...” Haagenti wondered aloud, rising out of his chair and grabbing his empty plate. Now Rin watched, eyes wide as the two began to leave the dining area to go eat ice cream and watch a movie.

Although the boy was stubborn, the idea of a movie and ice cream was too much. The boy was about to attempt to eat the carrots when he looked down at the orange vegetables. . . the cold, crunchy carrots seemed to glare at him from his plate. Suddenly it seemed to outweigh the movie and ice cream.

But then, Rin decided to improvise.

“Wait!” He hollered, grabbing the vegetables and shoving the two carrots into his pockets before running after the two elder demons, “Look! All gone!”

 

Using Mephisto’s large flat screen tv, the three of them watched a movie together on bean bags, each with a bowl of ice cream. Rin got chocolate, while Haagenti had decided on vanilla. Amaimon did not join them to get the ice cream, but he appeared when the movie started with his own bowl with a flavor Rin had never seen before.

In truth, it was more like just two of them were watching the movie. Rin insisted Amaimon sit with him on Haagenti’s leg, -he swore he heard something crack- so the old demon’s view was blocked out for most of the movie. Not to mention there was a mildly scary part that Rin had jumped at, and Haagenti conveniently had his spoon up to his mouth at that moment. The demon was trying to snort out the ice cream for the next half hour of the film.

After that he had the boy take a bath, which ended just how the demon had thought it would: him soaked. Amaimon was there, and somehow steered clear of any water droplets even while standing right next to Haagenti.

After the bath Mephisto returned, and even though he was exhausted, he humored little Rin in a hug, swinging the boy up into the air.

When he let the boy go onto the ground, two carrots plunked onto the floor, leaving both Mephisto and Rin to stare at them.

“Rin…” Mephisto began, but the boy ran before anything else could be said.

 

* * *

 

“Happy Birthday!”

Everybody was clapping except Mephisto, who was leaning against a wall, smiling as the twins blew out the two candles that poked out of the frosting. 

 

The small party continued on without incident. Rin was gifted with many presents from all the clergymen, and the same for little Yukio. Many cute photos were taken, and the cake was gone quickly.

When the celebration had come to a close, Mephisto had turned his attention to the child now at his feet.

“You ready to go, Rin?” Mephisto asked, watching as Rin nodded and embraced both Shiro and Yukio in a warm hug before turning to him, face bright and joyful. Pieces of chocolate cake that didn't make it into the child's mouth was smeared around his face, and there was dried frosting on the tip of Rin's nose. Shiro smiled down at the happy child, although it quirked down slightly at the sight of the boy's new ears and sharp smile. Mephisto noticed this, and felt a strange, parental feeling to pull Rin away and beat the hell out of Shiro for looking at his kid like that.

_His kid._

The demon shook his head as if to rid himself of such thoughts.  _Careful, Mephisto..._ he thought to himself,  _you're getting too attached._

“Daddy can we walk?” Rin asked Mephisto, successfully breaking the demon out of his turbulent thoughts and to the present. The child was pointing his little finger to the door of the monastery.

“You sure Rin? It’s snowing,” he cautioned, opening the door to show Rin how much it was coming down, but seeing the snowy outdoors only fueled the boy more.

“Please Daddy?” The boy proceeded, pulling the man towards the door. The demon thought for a second and then relented, letting himself get pulled along.

“Goodbye, Shiro,” he gave the man a nod, a look seeming to pass between the two before he turned his attention to the boy clinging to the Paladin’s leg. He waved to the boy, smiling. “Auf wiedersehen, Yukio! Till I see you again.” Mephisto closed the door behind him and walked down the steps with Rin, watching the boy stomp on the soft snow.

“Do you like the snow?” Mephisto questioned, and the boy nodded in return. He was now scuffing the ground, watching the snow fly off in front of him.

“Do you like snow?” Rin questioned back, and Mephisto nodded. “Does Amai like snow?” He asked, to which he shrugged.

“That's a question for Amai, not me.”

The walk continued on with Rin and Mephisto having short conversations here and there, Rin mentioning more than once that the snow was very cold.

 

Awhile into the walk Rin’s hand slid into Mephisto’s as he began to drag behind.

“Sleepy…” the boy muttered, causing Mephisto to stop and lift the boy up onto his back.

“You can go to sleep, I’ll keep walking,” Mephisto whispered to the boy, carrying on. He knew the walk would be a good distance, and he was surprised Rin had made it this far.

“Goodnight daddy…” the boy slurred, sleep overtaking the child's body. He fell into a peaceful state with wild dreams and exiting adventures.

“Goodnight Rin,” Mephisto whispered, smiling as the boy laid his head on his shoulder. The demon thought about maybe teleporting back to the mansion, but the moment he was in was too precious for him to wreck. Feeling Rin’s little breath tickle his neck and the cold of the night surrounding him, made him feel as if time had slowed. It was a surreal moment that the demon dare not break.

 

When they arrived home, he laid the boy on the bed and wrapped him in his blanket. Again he felt bad that he had to ruin Rin’s peaceful state, but he knew he had to do it.

The sword was exactly where he had left it. Pulling it out of the drawer, he shed the red fabric from the sword. He looked at its cracked sheath, and began chanting right where he left off from last year. He didn't flinch when he heard Rin screaming in the other room as more cracks appeared; he didn't stop, not until a part of it looked as though it was ready to chip off. It was only then that Mephisto stopped and carefully covered the sword with the red cloth and put it back into hiding. After resealing the drawer, he hurried back to the bed where he presumed Rin to be, and was surprised to find the child not there.

“Rin?” Mephisto called out, turning slowly around the room to see if he could see the child. A sniffle caught his attention and he immediately turned to face it. It was there, in a corner, was Rin. Fat tears rolled down his cheeks. His hair looked disheveled and his clothes were slightly ripped. His eyes glowed dangerously and his nails that had been clipped before they had left were now long and sharp, ready to tear into anything that presented itself before the demonic child. A dark appendage moved slowly back and forth, and Mephisto realized that it was a tail.

“Hey Rin, it’s okay…” Mephisto soothed, walking closer to the boy in the corner. That was when Rin did something that Mephisto would never expect: he growled.

Baring his fangs dangerously at the older demon, Rin exploded into beautiful blue flames, illuminating the dark room. With the fire enveloping the young boy, Rin lunged at Mephisto, who easily dodged the attack.

“Rin, calm down,” Mephisto said, voice stern but gentle. Rin did not seem to hear him as he lunged for him again, and Mephisto dodged the boy again, softly batting the child to the ground.

The child hit the ground with a thud, but recovered quickly to snarl at the older demon, flames growing higher. Mephisto could see the flames were slowly taking over Rin, and so when the boy lunged again for him, Mephisto let the boy catch him and bring him to the ground. He didn’t even flinch as Rin growled in his face, looking akin to a rabid dog with his slavering mouth.

“Don’t you remember me, Rin? It’s your daddy, would you really hurt your daddy?” Mephisto tried, wrapping his arms around the boy tightly. Rin seemed to almost roar, struggling against the demon’s hold as he scratched and kicked and lashed out, but Mephisto did not slacken even as the blue flames began to burn his clothes and exposed skin.

“It’s okay...I’m here, just calm down,” Mephisto whispered to Rin, hoping the boy would pull through before the flames burned him alive. 

Luck seemed to take pity on the demon, for the flames slowly began to die down, and the boy that was held tight in his arms stopped struggling.

Rin looked up at the man he just attacked, and his blue eyes traveled down to the man's chest where his shirt had been burned away, showing the bleeding scratches Rin had inflicted along with the black, ugly skin of 3rd degree burns. At this, the child began to cry, and Mephisto comforted him by rubbing small circles into the boy’s back.

“M’sorry…” Rin mumbled, hiccuping as he cried, hugging the man he had beaten.

“It’s okay...it’s okay,” Mephisto soothed, “go to sleep, it’ll be better in the morning.”

The boy continued to cry, prompting Mephisto to help the child fall asleep. Taking in a breath, the demon began to hum a lulling tune he had learned from his older brother. It helped with Amaimon when he would not stop crying, and now it was helping Rin fall asleep.

In the entryway of the room Haagenti watched everything play out, awoken by the screaming. He had never seen Samael care that much for someone else. '

 _Well well,_ Haagenti thought, _this is interesting…_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will be sporadic.  
> I can't eat raw carrots. To me, it has the weirdest texture and almost no taste. Ugh! I can't stomach it. Cooked is fine though :)  
> If you see any major mistakes, tell me! I proofread as much as I can, but mistakes still slip through my terrible vision.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW!! It's super long and you can blame that to the fact I HAVE NO IDEA where to cut off my stories. I find it so difficult for some reason. Props to writers who can cut stories without making it choppy.

The day Rin learned the game hide and seek seemed to go good, but later the it would spell out disaster.

…..As it did today.

Amaimon was good at hide and seek; it was one of his favorite games. But when Rin went to hide and Amaimon had finished counting, the demon could not for the life of him- find Rin!

He looked everywhere, and eventually he was left with only one option left...and it led him to approach his older brother wearily.

“Spit it out, dear brother. I don’t have all day.” The demon demanded, not looking up from desk, where he scribbled furiously at some important documents.

Amaimon took a breath before speaking, preparing himself for Mephisto’s wrath as he hurriedly got it out. “I lost Rin.”

The demon’s head shot up. That, caught Mephisto’s attention.

“You did what.” The calmness Mephisto displayed scared Amaimon more than his yelling.

“He’s a very good hider…”

Mephisto immediately set the paperwork aside and got up out of his chair, motioning for Amaimon to follow.

“What area of the mansion were you two playing in?”

“....Everywhere.”

Mephisto could feel a headache coming on. “So he could be hiding anywhere in the mansion?”

“No. He was not in the room you were in.” The headache was growing.

“Yes, I see that. Have you told him to come out?”

“....no.”

Mephisto faltered slightly in his brisk walk, the answer coming as a surprise to the man, who immediately whirled around to face his brother. “What! Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to lose...if I tell him to come out I lose the game.”

“Amaimon…” Mephisto tried to keep to keep his cool, but his twitching eye betrayed him, “just say it so he will come out.”

“No.” Amaimon answered simply, “so you could either start looking for him too, or wait for him to get hungry to come out.”

That made Mephisto pause. Amaimon was right, Rin would come out when he was tired of playing to get food. This made him relax. “How long has he been hiding?”

Amaimon took a second to think before responding. “About an hour and a half.”

Mephisto’s relax state immediately turned rigid once again, before he stiffly went down the hall to check the first room. _I knew I shouldn’t have taken the silence for granted… In normal circumstances Rin would never be that quiet.._

“Have you tried to located him with your powers?” Amaimon knew Mephisto was referring to his ability to feel vibrations, and he shook his head.

“I already tried. It’s also weaker when I’m not on the ground.”

Mephisto sighed, before giving up. “Fine. You go down the other hall. That way we can cover more ground faster.”

The demon nodded and turned around, heading down a different corridor. Mephisto kept moving forward, glancing in the rooms he passed to see if he could hear or see Rin. He couldn't even feel the boy’s presence, which made the demon frantic. Usually if he concentrated, he could feel the general area where the boy usually was. It helped a lot even in Gehenna with his other brothers, but now he couldn’t feel Rin’s presence at all.

Even outside the house Mephisto would at least feel a little presence, so not feeling one at all checked the garden off his might-be-hiding place list.

Did somebody take him? He might have snuck out and a demon could have taken him after getting through the barrier...maybe he walked off..somebody could of then kidnapped him!

The demon’s mind began to race with different scenarios, each more worse than the first, and most ended with Rin being whisked away from him. His pace quickened and his hand clenched into a fist as the situations in his head worsened... _I have to find him I have to find Rin I have to—_ until his hand unclenched and his steps became slow and smooth; deliberate, calculated steps. He silently chided himself for assuming such drastic situations. He was a rational being, yet this boy was changing how he would normally perceive a problem.

He wasn’t sure if he was liking all the anxiety that came with it…..

 

Pushing down irrational thoughts, the demon began thinking clearly as he usually would. He knew that Rin was adventurous, but not enough to leave the castle and let someone approach him without a sound. The only other place where he wouldn’t be able to feel his presence is—

A smile spread on the man’s lips.

He knew where Rin was.

Going down a hallway that led to a door he did not usually open, he found it to be slightly ajar. Opening it further, he was met with stairs that led down into the lower level of the mansion that was not visited often. Down here was where he kept his more... _important_ , things.

Weapons lined the walls as the demon descended down, antiques that he had collected throughout the millenniums lay in display cases. He scanned the cases as the stairs ended and led to a large room with high ceilings. Mephisto could easily name every single object he had, and he could remember exactly where he acquired them. _Oh, there's my Mongol saber. As I remember, I got that from Genghis Khan before he died. Funny how humans still can't figure out how he expired._

“Hiya! Kwuaaaaa!” Mephisto’s ears immediately tuned in on the sounds he wasn’t sure how to name, and stopped his examination of his weapons to follow the noises until he was met with the sight of his training facility. There, playing with one of his antique swords, was Rin.

The training room had its own barrier that acted as a bubble. Demons were unable to feel the presence of another if they were in the room. Of course it had a few other perks that would come in handy later in the years.

“Found you,” Mephisto said, making the boy jump.

“Daddy? You’re seeking too? That’s not fair!” Rin stomped, the sharp sword hitting the ground mere inches from the boy’s foot, making the older demon flinch.

“Well, Amaimon couldn’t find you and didn’t want to admit defeat, so I had to join in.” Mephisto’s attention was moved to the sword the boy still had in his hands. He had acquired it during the Roman Empire period, and he definitely didn’t want accident-prone-Rin, holding it.

“Here, let’s put this away….”

Seeming to open up a new subject, the boy looked at the sword still gripped in his hand. Then he looked up to Mephisto with a toothy grin. “You wanna see what I can do?”

“Rin I don’t think—”

“Hiyaaaa!” The boy swung the sword in a wide arc, getting dangerously close to Mephisto. The demon had to take a step back to avoid getting sliced in half.

“Wow Rin, that’s—”

“Raaaah!” The boy swung the sword again, but before Mephisto could intervene, the handle of the sword slipped from the boy’s little hands and the sword sailed through the air. Instead of hitting the wall like Mephisto hoped it would, it lodged itself deeply into a shield that was propped up on the wall. To the demon’s dread, that specific shield was one he had gotten from a viking nearly a millennium ago.

“Oops..sorry, it slipped,” Rin murmured, the apology not holding a lot of sincerity as the boy skipped out of the training facility and headed back up stairs, leaving Mephisto to gawk at his poor antique weapons.

_I need to have Haagenti give him a month class about asking before using...If I had done that in Gehenna I would have been disemboweled_

Back up stairs, Rin was snooping around in the kitchen where Haagenti was making—or trying, to make food.

“Rin don’t climb up on the counters!”

“Whatcha makin’ Haag?” Rin asked curiously, tumbling off the counter to poke around the demon’s sides, trying to see the mystery dish.

“I'm making real food for once. I'm tired of eating those pre-cooked packaged foods where you can taste where it's been. Hah, that Mephisto..."you will get three meals a day," what a lie," Haagenti continued to grumble on about the disgusting food, and how ever since Mephisto had decided to become an "independent parent" and to no longer follow the "How to Raise a Baby: Parent 101" blog online that the food had become bland and tasteless.

Looking down at Rin, the demon realized he never answered the boy's question, and that the child was still waiting for an answer.

"I am making Ƕǽȩȣɀ. It’s a Gehennian dish that your father thought you might like. It’s somewhat similar to Assiah’s ramen noodles.”

“Oh I loooove Ramen nooduls!” Rin squealed, seemingly not affected by the rant Haagenti just had as he jumped up and down excitedly.

“I know you do,” Mephisto said, entering the kitchen. “And the Gehennian recipe is much more healthy, which gets those vegetables out of the way."

“Aww...it’s healthy!? Yuck!” Rin pouted, sticking his tongue out of his mouth in distaste. Mephisto lightly tapped the boy on the head.

“How do you know you don't like it?  You haven’t even tried it yet.” Mephisto walked passed the boy to observe how Haagenti cut up the food and mixed it together, silent for a second before he whispered to the demon. “In my defense, I only said three meals a day. I did not specify how they would be."

Haagenti stopped working on the food to look at Mephisto, a slight challenge in his eyes. "I expect you to also begin making real food. If I eat another dinner that tastes like a freezer I will no longer teach Rin."

Mephisto's eyes went wide and a smile curved onto the demon's face. "Well well, isn't that a challenge?"

Haagenti did not back down, and held his gaze steady. Even in his old, frail form, he still looked scary, especially to Rin. The child watched as tension was built between the two, not sure what was going on.  He didn't like the faces both were making, and it made him scared seeing them both act like that. Tears began to brim the child's eyes, and blue flames ignited around Rin as the child began to cry.

The tension was lost between the two demons as they both turned to look at Rin. Mephisto immediately began to console the boy, trying to settle him down. Haagenti was too mesmerized by the blue fire to do anything. He watched as it rose higher and higher to the ceiling of the kitchen.

"Hey what are those things on the ceil-" Haagenti's question was answered when the little sprinklers on the ceiling began sprinkling water down when the flames touched them. It stopped Rin's crying, which in turn made his flames disappear.

The kitchen was drenched, as were the three that were in the kitchen. The food was ruined.

"Do you want to just get takeout for today?" Mephisto asked, looking at the halfway-prepared food that looked exceptionally watery.

Both Rin and Haagenti nodded.

"Yeah."

 

* * *

 

 

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months as time continued. Rin grew up in relative happiness, and was now able to access his flames when very emotional thanks to Mephisto. Amaimon would visit him now and then, making sure to bring Rin candy when he came. Mephisto was not very enthused about Rin always being on a sugar high, so Amaimon and Rin began to set up little safe places that they would make sure were always stocked with sweets.

Both Mephisto and Haagenti had become the cookers of the house. Haagenti would cook Gehennian food while Mephisto would make Assiahn food, and at some points make German dishes.

Haagenti had begun interacting more with Rin, using different toys and methods to figure out how Rin works for the best course of teaching. So far he seemed to be a hands-on kind of child. Very emotional and easy to read, which Haagenti was happy for. Amaimon was by far the hardest to teach; he was an enigma, and Haagenti found it hard to know what worked and what didn’t.

Mephisto had also tried to get Rin to “socialize more”, as Shiro had put it. Apparently Shiro thought Mephisto was secluding Rin from the outside world; the only kid he knew that was around his age being his brother. In Mephisto’s defense, Rin had befriended Amaimon’s Hobgoblin once he was able to see him, which was right after his second birthday.

As for Yukio, he had begun seeing a lot more of Rin, who insisted on seeing his brother every week. Sleepovers became a common thing at the Monastery...except Rin was pretty much a night owl. Having a tail made many things that used to be easy for Rin now difficult. He had to wear baggy pants when out so that nobody noticed the lump on his back, and he had to be really careful around Yukio so as not to let it slip out. A comfortable sleep when staying over was now a thing of the past.

 

It was getting nearer to the twin’s third birthday, and Rin was once again in the company of Yukio, both swinging happily on the park swings in the snow-covered playground. Shiro thought it was too cold out, but the children insisted on coming. Yukio and Rin were being pushed on the creaking swings by Shiro. Yukio let himself slowly swing to a stop while Rin jerked around, trying to do as his dad taught him, swinging his legs out and in. His timing was a bit off, but he was learning.

“Watch me Dad!” Rin called as he drove his legs out and in to propel him farther in his swing seat, getting more momentum built up as he got ready to swing off. 

“Don’t go too-” Rin jumped off before Shiro could even finish his warning, flinging off of the swing set and landing on the snow-covered ground with a loud thump. He laughed, and Shiro let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. It really wasn't that high, but it was high enough to make Shiro worry.

“Rin! Don’t go so high, you could get hurt,” Shiro scolded, lifting the boy off the the ground to wipe the snow off his clothes. He was happy that the child was okay, but a small voice in the back of his head told him that even if he had gotten hurt, he would have healed in seconds. His pointed ears and clipped nails that were already getting sharp were proof to that statement.

“Rin!” Yukio called out, coming over to make sure his brother was okay. “Don’t do that! You coulda got hurt!”

“M’fine,” Rin reassured, wiggling out of Shiro’s grip to land on the ground, “Didn’t even hurt!”

“C’mon, let’s go on the slide!” Yukio beckoned, Rin, who was about to follow Yukio before Shiro pulled him back.

“Hey, Rin, can I talk to you for a second?” Shiro asked the boy, who nodded readily. Shiro wasn’t sure how to ask this without being so straightforward.

“So, how are you doing?” Shiro questioned, crouching down to be level with the boy, “How’s Mephisto?”

“Good!” Rin answered enthusiastically, “Amai got me candy and it was good-” Shiro tried to hide the frown that wanted to make its way on his face. He hated that Mephisto allowed such a demon to be around the child. Not to mention that Hobgoblin…

“Daddy’s also been teaching me how to do magic!” Rin finished, and this caught Shiro’s attention immediately.

“Magic, huh?” Shiro hummed, knowing the boy was talking about his flames.

“Yeah!” Rin exclaimed, but then his happiness fell, “but I can’t do it real good…” Rin’s bottom lip pouted out slightly as he remembered attacking Mephisto, and he soon found himself embraced in a small hug by Shiro.

“Hey, it’s okay Rin, you don’t have to talk about it. Why don’t you go play with Yukio,” Shiro suggested, and Rin nodded, running to Yukio on the slides.

Shiro watched, remembering when Mephisto had told him that Rin had attacked him. Shiro wanted him to slow down, not to break the sword just yet, but the demon insisted, saying the boy could handle it. Shiro didn't really agree with it, but the demon stuck to that mindset, even now when their third birthday was coming up.

“If you keep frowning dear Shiro, your face will stay like that,” A voice tut-tutted behind him, and Shiro turned to see Mephisto walking up to him, a limo waiting behind him.

He scoffed in reply, turning to watch the kids play on the slides as Mephisto stopped next to him.

“I see the kids are having fun,” Mephisto observed, watching curiously as a Coal Tar floated in the frosty air near the kids. Yukio saw it immediately and shied away from it. Rin either didn’t care or didn’t acknowledge it, as he kept laughing even as it drifted a bit too close to him as he slid down the snow-covered slide, squealing as the cold snow flew onto his cold skin. Shiro gazed questioningly as the Coal Tar floated next to Rin, who continued to seemingly ignore it, and then turned to give Mephisto a look.

“He’s able to see them,” Mephisto answered the question before Shiro could ask it.

“Then why is he not afraid?” Shiro asked, watching the demon float away, Yukio staring at it in the corner of his eye.

“He is not afraid because he knows it will not hurt him.” He answered simply, a smirk on his face. “Once he was able to see demons, I began exposing him to low level demons, mostly Coaltars and Hobgoblins to get him used to them.” Shiro whipped to face the demon, but the taller man spoke before he could chide him.

“Rin was in a controlled environment, nothing was going on without my supervision. I would never let Rin be in a situation where he could potentially be harmed.” He assured Shiro, folding his hands behind his back. Shiro had a frown on his face, but sighed and looked back to the two children.

“Daddy!” Rin had now spotted Mephisto, and was running over, Yukio in tow. Both boys had red cheeks and pink noses, and their heavy breathing made them look like dragons as their breaths curled up into the chilly atmosphere.

“Hey Rin! Ready to go?” Mephisto asked the boy, lifting him up into his arms.

“Can Yuki come with us please?” Rin begged, pointing down to Yukio. Mephisto hummed, crouching down so he could embrace both boys.

“Yukio came over last week, and remember the ruckus you two caused?” Mephisto said, looking more at Rin at the last part. The boy had spontaneously decided that the hallways were supposedly missing "a hint of blue," as Rin put it, and began to draw on the walls, somehow convincing Yukio to help.

“And our guest gets real grumpy when there’s company,” Mephisto added on. Coincidentally, the wall that they drew on just happened to be attached to Haagenti’s room, who was at the time trying to concentrate on his books. Of course, hearing the sounds of giggling and laughter right outside your door makes it a little difficult. Getting irritated, Haagenti confronted the two and began chasing them, Rin laughing while Yukio looked a bit more frightened.

Rin kicked at the snow, grumbling. Mephisto sighed, patting the boy on the back. “You can see each other tomorrow, if Shiro’s okay with that.” At that Rin's smile returned, and Yukio joined him.

“Good,” Ruffling Yukio’s hair, Mephisto lifted Rin up into his arms. “Auf Wedersehen, Yukio,” He then turned to Shiro, and waved goodbye.

“Bye Dad!” Rin yelled enthusiastically, “Bye Yuki!”

 

Mephisto set the boy down into the car seat in the back of the limo. The child immediately freed his tail, sighing at the relief and petting it fondly. Mephisto understood the child's struggles. He was now for sure that his tail had a permanent kink from keeping it hidden around his waist for such a long time. Rin grabbed his car seat buckle and tried to buckle himself in, but it wasn't working very well. Mephisto was watching him silently, before he suddenly the old demon remembered something, and smiled down at the boy.

“Are you excited? Your birthday is coming up! Soon you’ll be three years old.” Mephisto asked, nimbly taking away the two pieces of the buckle and clicking them together, strapping the boy in tight. He waited for the child to answer, but instead of a shake of his head or even a smile, the boy frowned, his hand clutching the tuff at the end of his tail.

Mephisto looked at the boy, confused as to why he seemed sad. “What’s wrong?”

The boy’s lower lip puffed out slightly, and he began twirling with the fur on his tail, indicating how nervous he was. “I get hurt on my birthday...when I sleep.” His voice quivered. Mephisto understood what he as talking about, and gave the boy a reassuring smile.

“Well after this birthday, it won’t hurt anymore. You’ll be okay,” Mephisto said, hoping the words brought the boy peace as he shut the door and made his way to the passenger seat of the limo.

 

When Rin arrived at the mansion he immediately went over to his collection of toys while Mephisto had to go to his office in the Acadamy to retrieve a few things, so Rin was left to his own devices for the time being.

Looking at his assortment of toys, Rin decided that he wanted to draw. Grabbing paper and crayons, the boy began drawing random things that came to his head, his tongue poking out in concentration.

Haagenti made the wrong decision by showing himself in that specific moment as he crossed Rin’s path to go fetch something. Rin saw him and immediately called out for the old demon.

“Haag! Haag come’re!” The boy yelled, patting the spot next to him. The boy couldn’t say Haagenti’s name fully, so he had resorted to Haag, which the demon very much disliked.

“I’m doing stuff right now, kid. Get Amaimon to color with you,” the demon waved off the child, starting to head back to his room, but the child did not let up.

“Haag, please! Pretty please? Just for a little bit!” Rin begged, already getting Haagenti his own paper and red crayon.

“No!” The demon said a bit too harshly, and regretted it when he saw tears well up in the child’s big blue eyes. The demon sighed, making his way back over to the child.

“Fine, but only for a little while.” The boy smiled immediately and gave the demon his own paper and red crayon. It took the demon a few minutes to get all the way down on his stomach, and once he was there he wasn’t sure he was going to get back up on his own.

Damn this vessel…He thought, starting to color the piece of paper with the red crayon.

A few minutes passed, both drawing silently. Little Rin peaked over from his drawing to look at Haagenti’s paper, trying to see what he was drawing. Rin saw what looked to be grass on half the paper, but the sky looked wrong to the boy.

“Your sky is messed up,” The boy commented, scooting closer to the demon to look closer at the drawing.

“No it’s not,” Haagenti said simply, coloring the edges of the sky with the red crayon.

“It’s red, the sky’s blue,” Rin replied, confused why the old man didn't get that. He quickly glanced to the window closest to him to make sure he was right. The sky outside, although it was dark, was certainly a shade of blue.

“Well, in Gehenna, the sky’s red,” The demon said, watching as the boy looked at him curiously. A spike of excitement hit him, one that he had not felt for awhile. He had forgotten his love of teaching, of passing down his knowledge to curious minds. He wanted to explain it all to the boy, but going into detail would overwhelm the child. From constant observation, the demon knew that if he began to speak about the other world comprehensively, the boy wouldn’t retain all of it. He had seen it happen when he introduced the boy to low level demons. He remembered what they were called and what they would do. But from what Haagenti saw now, the boy did not remember at all where they came from. This told him he had to start slower, with something the child could see.

Flipping his paper over, the demon began to explain.

"You are right Rin, here, the sky is blue, and the sun is yellow. Here is where Mephisto and your brother are,” While talking the demon drew a big circle, drawing a blue sky and a yellow sun in the small circle, along with grass with Rin and Mephisto as stick figures standing in it. “This place is called Assiah.”

Then, there is Gehenna. In Gehenna, the sky is red and the sun is black-”

“Where is Gehnna? Is it far away?” The boy interrupted, but the demon did not seem mad.

“ _Gehenna_ , is I guess far away. It is its own realm, and in a way is below us.” Haagenti could see by the furrowing of the child's brows that he didn't get it.

“Okay so...you know how there is Heaven?” The boy continued stare at the demon in confusion, making the demon sigh...

"Okay...you know that show you always watch? With Emo and Mr. Doddles?"

“Oh Yeah!" Rin smiled wide, immediately recognizing the names as the characters in his favorite TV Show, Elmo's World. "But it's Elmo and Mr. Noodles, not Emo—"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. So you know how Mr. Doddles is stuck in that window thing? That's like Gehenna. Assiah is like Emlo. It's stuck on one side, and Mr. Doddle is on the other side. In Emlo's room, the sky is blue and the sun is yellow. In Mr. Doddle's, the sky is red and the sun is black." Haagenti looked at the child, and when the child seemed to be somewhat following Haagenti's new appraoch, the demon continued. He drew a circle and titled it "Gehenna," before drawing deformed stick figures in it. Before Rin could ask about it, he was already continuing on, drawing another circle above the one titled "Assiah."

"Then there is Heaven. Humans are taught to believe that if they do no wrongs, they will go here and be among the angels and God. What they don't tell you is that angels are snobs and things are much too happy up there. Trust me, it gets boring and they don't take too well to change either," a smirk appeared on Haagenti's face as he remembered distant memories, but the child's questioning gaze brought him back to the present. 

"Sorry, those are stories for a different time. Now where were we...oh, yes. Heaven is like another window thing, like another Mr. Doodles."

"Oh, so it's Mr. Noodles!"

"What? No....we just went over Mr. Doodles—"

"No, Mr. Noodles has a brother named Mr. Noodles!" Now it was Rin trying to explain things to Haagenti, who just decided to go with it.

"Ahh, okay then. Heaven is Mr. Noodle's brother, Mr. Noodles. So there's Emlo—

"Elmo."

"Elmo, as Assiah, and then there's Mr. Noodles, who is Gehenna. Then there is Mr. Noodles, who lets say is on a ladder, above everybody else. That's Heaven. You get it?" Haagenti was slightly confusing himself, but Rin was nodding furiously.  _At least someone is understanding this..._

"Good. And you know there is Hell?” The boy shook his head, so again Haagenti began drawing another circle, next to Gehenna.

“Hell is next to Gehenna. Humans are told that if they're bad, they will go here, which isn't entirely wrong. You can think of this as Mr. Noodle's sister, Miss Noodles.  So now there is a Heaven, a Hell, an Assiah, and a Gehenna, where Coal Tars and Hobgoblins and other demons live. They are all their own realm.” This is where the boy seemed to connect what information he was taught before when dealing with low level demons. He knew the names sounded familiar! 

“So we are here, on the realm Assiah, and above is Heaven. Below is Gehenna, and next to Gehenna is Hell. Do you get it?” The demon wanted to make sure the boy comprehended this, and was happy to see the boy nod.

"We are with Elmo, Mr. Noodles is in the window with Mr. Noodles, who is on a ladder. Next to Mr. Noodles is Miss Noodles!" Haagenti simply nodded even though he no longer wasn't sure which noodle represented which realm. But as long as it made sense to Rin...

“So what do you know about Gehenna now?”

“It is a..re-realm and over there the sun’s black and the sky’s red, and...the little fly-things live there with the Hoppys...and it's like Mr. Noodles!” The boy said excitedly, getting even more happy when the demon chuckled.

“That is correct! Good job Rin,” The demon gave the boy an encouraging pat on the head. _I can't believe I just used a children's TV show to explain different dimensions..._

"Did you draw this?”

A voice drew the demon’s attention away from the boy, making him turn to see Amaimon crouched next to him, uncomfortably close. In his hand was the paper with circles scribbled all over it.

“Amaimon! Give that back,” The old demon commanded, a little embarrassed that Amaimon had snuck right under his nose and grabbed his drawing.

“Nice stick figures...looks like Astaroth drew them.” That comment angered Haagenti slightly. Astaroth had no creative talent at all, and could not draw to save his life.

“My artistical skills are much better than Ataroth's. Give it back!” Haagenti lunged his arm out for the drawing, but Amaimon jumped back, teasing the demon as he danced out of the room. Haagenti growled and tried to get up, but his vessel was against him, and it took some time for him to get up onto his feet.

“Curse this..old body!” Haagenti yelled, getting up and trying to hobble after the demon. Rin was left in the room, giggling as Amaimon would jump into the room at times, making a show for the child as he dodged and jumped over the older demon.

“Gah! I can not doing anything with these wretched old bones!” The yelled, giving up to go over and sit down on a nearby chair to rest and catch his breath.

“Maybe I’ll give you an upgrade, depending how much Rin is learning.” It was a new voice, and Rin jumped up and ran to the source. Mephisto had returned from his office at True Cross, papers in hand. He set down the paperwork to engulf Rin in a hug, hoisting him up into his arms.

“I’ve already taught him a little bit,” The demon gestured to the paper in Amaimon’s hands, then looked back at the boy. “Rin, would you care to share it with Mephisto?”

The boy nodded. “We're in Elmo, and Mr. Noodles is with Mr. Noodles and Miss Noodles. And one ofe'ms on a ladder!" Haagenti's jaw hit the floor. Mephisto stared at the child while Amaimon held back a smile. Rin watched all three in silence, before coughing and starting up again.

"And uhh...Gehna is its own re-realm. The fly-things and Hoppys come from there, and it has a red sky and a black sun?” This time Rin he got his desired reaction. Mephisto smiled and nodded.

“Good,” Mephisto grinned, "you got that part, although I don't know what you were talking about at the beginning with all those noodles. Can you tell me what realm are we in right now?”

“Umm…” The boy thought for a moment, “Azi. Azi..ya.”

Mephisto smiled, letting the boy down. “Nice job Rin.”

“Brother, look at Haagenti’s drawing,” Amaimon waved the paper in front of Mephisto, who looked at it briefly.

“Looks as if Astaroth drew it,” Mephisto commented simply, eliciting a ‘harrumph’ from the old demon. Haagenti slowly made it out of the chair and began to walk away, muttering some remarks as he left for his room.

Mephisto went to go put the paperwork away, but before he could even take a step away from Rin, the boy grabbed the man’s pant leg.

“Come draw with me!” Rin exclaimed, trying to pull the man over to where the crayons and papers were strewn around.

“Sorry Rin, I-”

“No!” Rin interrupted Mephisto, pulling Mephisto harder, “just for a little bit…” Mephisto was about to object, but then Rin puffed out his lower lip, and his blue eyes went big and wide.

A moment later found both Mephisto and Amaimon on the floor, coloring with a happy Rin.

* * *

 

The next day Mephisto could almost see the energy fluctuating off of the jittery child. His tail flicked back and forth anxiously and he could not sit still, jumping around the room and staring out the window, waiting for the boy and the priest to show.

“Where are they?” Rin whined, wrapping himself up with his blue velvet blanket in front of the window. His short span of patience was growing smaller.

“Is Yukio coming by?” Amaimon asked, startling Rin slightly. He did not hear the demon approach him, even though he should be used to his intrusive behavior by now.

“Yeah, he should be here soon…” Rin murmured back an answer, eyes not drifting away from the window. He stared hard, silently hoping Yukio and Shiro would appear if he looked hard enough. Amaimon stayed silent, watching Rin for a few seconds before turning away.

“Has our stash behind the bookcase been found yet?” Amaimon absentmindedly asked, effectively making Rin break eye contact with the window.

“Don’t you dare! That’s one of our last stashes! We were gonna save it for somethin’ spe-spe…” Rin stopped for a few seconds, thinking before he spoke slowly, “spessshhh—

“Special?” Amaimon intervened, to which Rin nodded profusely. “Yeah!”

“What makes this not a special time? Yukio is coming over, isn’t that special?” Amaimon asked, before turning away and heading to where they had stashed candy. Amaimon and Rin had created secret supplies of candy around the house, hiding them from Mephisto who forbade large amounts of sweets. No matter how many times Mephisto scolded Amaimon about giving Rin candy, the demon continued to fill the house with it, and with the help of Rin, create little places where they knew candy would always be if they ever felt like going on a little rush.

Little Rin thought about what Amaimon said, and couldn’t think of anything to argue against the demon’s words. “Well...I guess you’re right…” Rin muttered, deciding to follow Amaimon to get a few suckers. He wondered if Yukio would like bubblegum flavored…

“Rin!” The call of his name made Rin stop, and he followed the call to where Mephisto sat in his office.

“What?” The boy asked, anxiously glancing to where Amaimon disappeared. He hoped the demon remembered that Rin wanted some sweets too. Last time he forgot and ate all the candy, and Rin did not want a repeat of that.

“Do you remember what you have to keep hidden from Yukio?” Mephisto questioned. Rin immediately knew where this was going, and his head dipped a little.

“My tail…”

“Do you remember why?”

“Cuz’ he’ll think I’m weird?” Rin answered, trying to focus his eyes on his shoes as his eyes started to water.

“No, Rin, Yukio will not understand why you have a tail, and he might be frightened by it. Think of it as a magic power that you can’t show him. You are not weird, okay?” Mephisto came to kneel next to little Rin, but the boy didn’t look up.

Mephisto sighed, “Here, look, I have one too. And so does Amaimon, and Haagenti.” Mephisto let his tail unwrap from his torso, and a smile came onto his face when Rin finally looked up, watching the tail.

“Can I touch it?” Rin asked timidly, and Mephisto nodded, letting the boy gently touch the scruff of his tail. It was soft in Rin's hand, and the boy petted it gently.

“Rin, listen closely to me, “ Mephisto said, rewrapping his tail after the boy had touched it, looking directly into Rin’s blue eyes. “Do not let anyone else see or touch your tail. It’s very vulnerable and-”

“What does vul-vulnerble mean?”

“It means that it will hurt a lot if someone is mean to it. Only family can see your tail, and sometimes not even then. I let you see my tail because I trust you. Only let people you truly trust see your tail—besides Yukio.”

Footsteps near the entrance caught the boy’s attention, and he ran over to the large doors, taking a moment to tuck his tail away before opening it up. There stood Shiro and Yukio, the former poised to ring the doorbell.

“You took forever!” Rin scolded them, grabbing them both and trying to drag them into the mansion.

“Rin, is that how you would greet guests?” Mephisto chided as he walked up, to which Rin wrinkled his nose.

“Yes” Rin answered, ignoring Mephisto’s tut-tut of disapproval and focusing on Yukio. Pulling the boy close into a hug, the boy whispered to the other. “Hurry! We gotta go while they're talking!”

Turning away, Rin motioned Yukio to follow as he hurried down the halls, following the path to his candy stash. Amaimon had disappeared, most likely raiding the candy pile at the moment, which gave Rin another reason to fly down the halls, not looking back to see if Yukio was behind him.

Meanwhile, Shiro and Mephisto were speaking in the lounge area.

“Where did they run off to?” Shiro asked Mephisto.

“To a certain candy stash that Rin thinks I don’t know about.”

“Why are you letting him hide it behind your back?”

“Well he is part demon. Lying and hiding things from me is natural. Oh you should have seen the first time he lied right to my face it was the most adorable thing I ever saw! Oh how his little cheeks brightened-”

Shiro sighed, watching as the demon gushed over the memory. “Will you be able to tell if he’s lying in the future? Are you sure that’s okay?”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. I could even see it when Father lied...sometimes. Every demon has a tiny, almost unperceivable trait that shows they're lying.”

“What’s Rin’s?”

Mephisto was silent for a second, before turning away. “I’m not telling you.”

“What! Why not?”

“Because.”

 

Turning into the library, Rin was met with the sight of Amaimon, who was already picking through the stash.

“Don’t take all the suckers!” Rin yelled,  running over to get his own share. Yukio stood back, eyes wary and staring at Amaimon.

“Come on Yukio!” Rin gestured for Yukio to come and take some too, but Yukio stayed where he was.

Amaimon and Yukio never really got along. The boy felt something off about him, and the same with Haagenti. Because of this, Yukio tried to stay a good distance away from the two. He wondered sometimes how Rin could be so comfortable around them, if he didn’t feel the strange aura emitting from the two. He hated to say he felt the same way around Mephisto sometimes.

“Yukio!” The yell of his name brought him out of his haunting thoughts and to his much more happy brother. “D’you like bubblegum flavored?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure how Haagenti should explain to Rin about different dimensions, so I just thought "Hey, why not use an Elmo analogy?" Boom. Done. Albeit terribly.  
> Do you like bubblegum flavored? I don't really like it. Especially ice cream. Cookie Dough is usually my go to  
> Awww Mephisto doesn't wanna tell Shiro Rin's lying tick so the kid can lie to him...what a good father!
> 
> I haven't looked over this chapter yet, so I might change a few things the next time I look over it.  
> Hope it wasn't too weird!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where was I, you ask?  
> I was drowning.  
> at school.  
> Hello.

Another year slowly came to the ending month of December, and another birthday for the twin’s were held. They were both showered in presents, but it was hard for Rin not to feel apprehensive, knowing what was coming. It especially showed when Mephisto tried to get Rin to go to sleep.

“Can’t I stay up a little longer?”

“No.”

“Can I sleep with you?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because. Now goodnight. You’ll be okay.”

“But..but…”

“I swear, nothing will hurt you after tonight, you’ll be okay...okay?”

Rin’s eyes were wide, sweeping around the room one more time before nodding. “Mkay…”

Mephisto tucked the boy into bed and left, his heart breaking knowing what he had to do. _One last time...and then it’s over. Just one more Rin...._

Midnight came upon Mephisto much too early, and the demon reluctantly made his way to where the sword was held. He opened the drawer and carefully pulled it out. Cracks ran across the surface, parts chipped so bad he wondered how it hadn’t fallen apart yet. Afraid he might back out if he waited any longer, he began to whisper to the sword, watching as it began to glow as the cracks grew once more, spreading across the sword and connecting with other cracks to create a piece of art itself.

The cries were worse this time. Mephisto heard it pull at his heart, heard the boy cry out for anyone, for something to make the pain stop as his demon heart slowly returned to his small body.

“ŘƐ̐ƚſƞǜϻ” When the last line of the chant was expelled from the demon’s mouth, the sword that held Rin’s flames for three years, the Koma sword, shattered into the minisculest of shards that dissolved into the air. Even the hilt splintered and dissolved. Just the cloth that covered it was left, and Mephisto left it where it laid on the table, opting to run where Rin was sleeping instead of putting it away.

He entered the room cautiously, not knowing if Rin had lost control, but to his surprise the boy was on the floor, knees pulled in and head hung low. He was crying.

“It’s okay Rin...you’re okay…” Mephisto consoled, grabbing the blue blanket that lay on the bed to try to wrap around Rin, but the child pushed him away and looked at the man accusingly.

“Didn’t you hear me call for you!? Why didn’t you come faster?”

“Rin-”

“Why do you let me get hurt!?”

“I'm-”

“You’re supposed to protect me! You’re supposed to-”

Mephisto hugged the boy tightly, stroking the boy’s hair, “I’m sorry. From now on, I will do whatever I need to do, to ensure your safety. I will protect my little Rin until he can protect himself...I promise, okay? I never go back on my word.”

Rin did not do anything at first, he just sat there, letting the man embrace him. But slowly, he lifted his little arms to wrap them shakily around Mephisto, burying himself in the calming scent of the man that had raised him.

“Rin, listen to me...there’s something I must tell you,” Mephisto mumbled to the child, locking eyes with those watery, blue eyes as Rin met his gaze. Veins criss crossed their way in Rin’s eyes, and snot dribbled from the boy’s nose. His heart--or hearts, was beating rapidly.

He was a mess.

“What is it?” The boy croaked out. Mephisto’s grim face scanned the boy’s face one more time before nodding, knowing it would help the boy who must feel so lost right now

“...The reason you differ from your brother so greatly...is because you are a demon..."

Mephisto told the child bits and pieces, only the bare minimum that would satiate Rin’s confusion and fear. He had backed out on telling the whole story, but now the boy at least knew he was a demon.

 

“.....that makes a lot more sense,” Rin finally said before going silent, leaving the demon to let out a sigh. Mephisto was surprised how well that had went, but he seemed to have jinxed himself when Rin looked up at him with a new curious light in his eyes.

“Why is Haag so old? So can Amai control fire? Can he like, shoot fire like this?” The boy proceeded to point his fingers and made little *pew* *pew* sounds, leaving Mephisto to wish he would have waited till morning to tell the boy. He already could tell that sleep was not an option tonight.

 

 

It began that night, and continued into the morning. Rin’s life had changed dramatically. He could hear things and see stuff that he could not before. He could see in the dark, and he was much, much stronger. He found that out when he accidentally crushed the TV Remote.

But the weirdest change in his opinion, was that now he had school. Mephisto would now wake him up earlier in the morning, and send him to the Library where Haagenti would be. The old demon would give lessons to the boy, either about the history of Assiah and Gehenna or math, and a few other curricular subjects. Rin asked Yukio about it one day, and was met with confusion. Yukio didn’t have his own lessons, which made Rin upset. Yukio didn’t have to deal with the horrifying subject that was mathematics.

At least Yukio stayed constant in his life. That didn’t change. Except, now he had to be extra careful around him. He now knew why he was so different from his brother, and had to also keep his strength a secret from him. Mephisto said he was not allowed to show or tell Yukio that he was a demon, and he promised himself not to, especially since Mephisto said Yukio will get upset. Life was complicated, but when wasn’t it for Rin?

 

* * *

 

Mephisto hated Shiro.

He hated Assiah.

He hated people for manufacturing scary children’s toys.

He hated..... _it_.

“Daddy! Mephy wants to be held!” Rin whined, tugging on Mephisto’s pant leg while his other hand held a furry stuffed bear that he had gotten from Shiro a week prior. Rin clung to it immediately when he got it, and wouldn’t go anywhere without it.

“Daaad! Mephy wants to go up!” The worst part was the name Rin had given the bear.

“Dad!” He named it Mephy, a nickname Mephisto despised but now had to tolerate hearing on a daily basis. Not only did it have its own name, apparently it could think and make decisions as though it had a brain stuffed somewhere in its head.

“Mephy’s getting impatent!” Haagenti’s language classes had been successful in giving Rin a whole new assortment of new words to describe things. Now if only he could pronounce them correctly...

“It’s impatient, and Mephy needs to learn to wait a little,” Mephisto chided, lifting the stuffed bear into his arms to sate Rin’s imagination.

“Mephy says you just need to not be slow.”

Mephisto’s hair went on end and the demon fought the urge to just rip the bear in half. “Well Meph-”

“Rin!” Haagenti’s head popped into the room, interrupting Mephisto’s outburst. Haagenti eyes turned to Mephisto, eyes narrowing, “You ask me to teach the boy yet you make him late for class?"

“Oh, sorry Haag! Mephy wanted Dad to hold him.” The boy apologized, reaching up to take Mephy out of the demon’s arms when he abruptly stopped, pausing for a second before smiling.

“Mephy said he wants to stay with you today,” The boy explained, walking up and placing  Mephy in Mephisto’s arms before quickly walking back to Haagenti, only turning to say a quick goodbye to the stuffed bear before disappearing around a corner.

Mephisto was left alone with the object, looking down at the bear’s blank gaze. The two black plastic dots that made up its eyes seemed to glare at him. The stitched in mouth seemed to smirk at him, as if it knew Mephisto couldn’t tear it to pieces.

“If I ripped you apart, Rin would be angry at me….” Mephisto muttered, a glint coming to his eyes, “but what if I accidently lost you? Rin would be mad, but at least he would forgive me faster than if he found shreds of your stuffing everywhere, ” An evil smile sprouted on the demon’s lips, and he briskly walked out of the room and headed to the entrance door.

Opening the door, Mephisto stashed the bear into one of the shrubs that lined the large courtyard, deciding he would have his Butler take it to the dump later that day. Dusting off his hands at a job well-done, the demon headed back inside.

 

Mephisto hummed happily as he worked on paperwork. Looking briefly at the clock on the wall—he wasn't sure why, he always knew what time it was, being the king of time and all—he realized Rin should be out of class by now. Which means he should brace himself to put on a show of innocence. He was a demon, so human emotions didn't come naturally to him, but he was an eccentric demon that had lived on Assiah for generations, so he was able to mimic most of them to a believable standard. This also brought up the question whether Rin would be as oblivious to emotions even though he grew up in Assiah. Then again, he’s growing up with demons, so it doesn’t really change...

He heard the patter of Rin’s steps down the hall and pushed the plethora of thoughts out of his mind and turned away, getting ready to put on a show.

“Daddy?” Mephisto took that as his que and spun around to face the boy, eyes watering and hand on his chest.

“Oh, I’m so sorry Rin, I-” Mephisto stopped abruptly at the sight of the boy. Hugged tightly to his chest was none other than Mephy, the bear he had just seen stuck in a hedge. _I knew I should have told Belial to put it at the dump sooner..._

“What are you sorry about?” Rin asked curiously, skipping over to the older demon.

“Oh um...nothing...nothing. Hey, where did you find Mephy?”

Rin looked at him with a confused stare, “He was waiting for me outside the Library room. I was mad at you at first for leaving him, but Mephy said to forgive you.”

“Oh...how..kind of him,” Mephisto said through clenched teeth, not sure what to think of at the moment. Rin nodded and went over to play with his toys, leaving Mephisto to ponder on how in the hell that bear got back in the mansion.

The next day, Mephy again wanted to stay with Mephisto when Rin went off to class. The demon smiled at the boy, the smile turning into a frown when Rin disappeared around the corner.

"Okay, let's try this again..." Mephisto muttered, walking up to his Butler. "Belial, take this to the dump, and do not say a word about it to anyone."

The demon nodded and bowed deeply, then headed off out of the mansion, heading to the dump.

Later that day when it was time for Rin's class to be over, Mephisto put on a facade of innocence. He would act out that he had lost the bear, and hoped desperately that this time the bear would not show up again.

"Hey Dad!" Rin entered the room, and Mephisto took the greeting as his que to turn around, eyes drooping with sadness. The demon had to hide the relief in his eyes when he didn't see the bear in Rin's arms.

"I'm so sorry Rin, but I lost Mephy!" Mephisto bowed his head in sorrow, expecting the boy to question him or be mad, but instead, the boy waved it off.

"Oh you didn't lose him! Mephy's been wanting to go on a vacation, so he probably decided now was the time to go. I'm just surprised he didn't say goodbye to me..." Rin's brows furrowed, and his mouth turned into a frown.

Mephisto wasn't sure what to do in that moment. He wanted to console Rin, but he definately did not want to defend the bear. But when Rin's lower lip began to puff out, Mephisto decided to suck in his pride.

"It's okay Rin. I bet Mephy just had to go in a hurry and didn't have time to say goodbye." The words felt wrong in his mouth, and he tried to say it as sincerely as he could muster at the moment.

"You're probably right," Rin said, mouth lifting into a small smile as the boy headed off to do his homework and play with his toys.

 

Rin still liked to sleep with Mephisto, especially so after his third birthday. Even though he knew it was his power returning to him—yet he wasn’t really sure why it was returning to him—it still scared him. Mephisto’s pretty sure it scarred Rin, which sucked because he had just started getting Rin used to his toddler bed.

Usually the boy would talk until he was too exhausted and just fall asleep, but tonight it was eerily silent. Rin had yet to make a sound, still worrying about his teddy.

“He’ll be fine Rin, he’s probably getting in a cab right as we speak to return to you.” Mephisto hated lying to Rin, but whatever made the boy feel at least a little more better, the demon would do it.

Rin did not respond for a minute or two, and the old demon was about to say goodnight when he heard Rin mumbling.

“Mephy would never take a cab...he’s too classy. He has a jetpack.”

“Ooh, does he now?” Mephisto smiled, “tell me more about this jetpack…”

 

When Mephisto awoke the next morning, his nose was immediately assaulted with the fact that Rin needed a bath. His foot was planted firmly on Mephisto's face, right on his sensitive nose. Rin's face was now opposite to the pillows, as he had somehow shifted a full 90 degrees during the night without waking Mephisto.

Mephisto wasn't even sure why he had a king sized bed since every night Rin would somehow make his way over to the demon's side of the bed.

Gently lifting the foot and moving it away from his face, Mephisto turned his head to again fall asleep, but when he opened his eyes in his new position, he was met with two black dots staring right at him.

It was Mephy.

Mephisto jerked back away from the bear, accidentally waking Rin in the process.

When Rin turned, his sleepy eyes immediately locked on Mephy, and the boy rushed over to give the bear a hug.

"Mephy you're back from your trip!" Rin squealed, his happiness in that moment making him fail to see the utter shock and disturbance on Mephisto's face.

"H-how...?" Mephisto whispered to himself. His nose caught the faint smell of dirt and moldy food on the bear, indicating that he had indeed been in the dump. But how had the bear returned?

 

"Bye Mephy, have fun with Daddy!" Rin called out, disappearing as he did everyday around the corner. When he left, Mephisto sat the bear down on his desk, and went to sit in his chair.

He stared at the bear, scrutinizing it with his sharp gaze. He poked it with a clawed finger, not really expecting a response but at the same time expecting there to be.

"If there is a demon in this bear I command you to face me. The longer you hide in there the more painful your death will become."

There was no response. Mephisto would be shocked if there was a demon inside the bear. It should have been forced out by the barrier, and if it was still there Mephisto would have sensed its presence...but he could hope.

Deciding this bear was not safe for Rin to have any longer, Mephisto snapped his fingers, opening a portal next to him. He threw the bear inside and the portal closed.

"Let's see you get out of that," The demon muttered. The portal led to his own little dimension that he used as his own personal storage room. He had what was most important in there, each locked in its very own chest floating around the small dimension.

Again Mephisto went through the motions of telling Rin he had lost the teddy, and this time Rin claimed the bear must have forgotten something on his trip and had went back to go retrieve it. Mephisto let the boy believe his theory and continued with his work.

That next morning, the bear did not show. Rin was very saddened with the fact, but held tight to his belief that Mephy was just taking his time returning back.

That morning when Mephisto was going through paperwork he heard Rin screaming. The demon immediately rose and flew out of the room, running to the sound that was coming from the halls.

"Rin!?" Mephisto shouted, ready to protect the child against anything, ready to-

"Mephy's back!" The child yelled in excitement, right when Mephisto arrived. The boy was cuddling the bear tightly to his chest, his smile wide and eyes shining.

Mephisto was not smiling, nor were his eyes shining. "Oh, how....wonderful?" It sounded more of a question than a congratulations, and the demon stiffly walked back to his office.

how could the bear return? There is no way out of there, and the only person who can access it is me and-

Oh. _Oh._ That made sense.

Anger and confusion made its way onto the demon's face as he called out for Amaimon.

"Amaimon! Won't you be a good brother and show yourself!"

The demon did as told, and Mephisto was soon faced with Amaimon's blank and somehow innocent-looking face.

"Yes brother?" Amaimon asked.

"Well Amaimon, it seems somebody has been meddling in my affairs, and ruining some of my plans," Mephisto hinted, trying to see if Amaimon would confess before he accused him.

"Well brother, it seems you are the one meddling in affairs. I doubt Rin's stuffed animal just happened to end up in one of your little storage closets."

Mephisto's eyes narrowed. "Ah, so it's you that's been retrieving the bear."

"Yes. Rin cares deeply for Mephy, and I don’t want him to be sad. So I returned the bear each time you thought you had finally gotten rid of him.” Amaimon seemed to have the faintest smile on his lips, proud of what he had done, which only angered Mephisto even more.

"You've really done it this time b-" He was interrupted by Rin who burst into the room, running up to Amaimon to give him a hug.

"Hi Amai! Look, Mephy's back!" Rin said, lifting the bear up for Amaimon to see. It still smelled of the dump, and looked in rougher shape than it did before Mephisto began plotting its demise.

"Mm, I see that," Amaimon replied simply, squishing the bear's fluffy head.

A voice down the hall averted everybody's attention from the bear and to Haagenti, who was definitely not pleased with Amaimon and Mephisto. But before he could gripe,

Rin apologized, "Sorry, it was my fault!"

The demon only grumbled and headed back down the hall. Rin was about to follow him for class before he stopped and looked down at Mephy, and then turned to Mephisto.

"Mephy says he'll go with me to my classes from now on," Rin said to Mephisto before leaving around the corner.

"Well there went your last chance," Amaimon commented, leaving the room through an open window before Mephisto could hurt him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this chapter done for awhile now, and I know it's pretty ugly, but I wanted to give something to those people waiting for me to post  
> So here's a semi-cute half filler, half plot chapter? I don't know...its just a mess.  
> I have yet to proofread so there will probably be a few mistakes. I will read it over as soon as I can in my busy schedule
> 
> I can literally feel the disappointment wafting from my readers, haha, sorry.  
> On a side note, I want a teddy bear named Mephy now.


End file.
